FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP – The Fruitport Calvary Christian boys basketball team is picking the right time to play its best basketball of the season.
The Eagles started the season with a 3-4 record, but since Jan. 13 they have soared, winning six of seven games entering Tuesday night’s contest.
Fruitport Calvary continued that trend when it hosted Muskegon Catholic Central, outlasting the Crusaders 70-61 on its home court in an Alliance League matchup.
The Eagles are now 10-5 on the season and improved to 3-2 in the league standings.
“Any win is a good win,” said Fruitport Calvary Coach Brad Richards. “Our guys are trying to figure things out and they have been able to piece together a few games. We were dead even with Muskegon Catholic. We just had a few shots that went in and they had a few that went out, and it came down to that.”
The Eagles had four players score in double figures, led by Sam Zelenka with 21 points.
Bradley Richards, who scored his 1,000th varsity point earlier in the season, had a near triple-double with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Fruitport Calvary’s Gabe VanBaale added 15 points and nine rebounds while Quinn Swanson scored 12 points.
The Eagles, who led most of the game, jumped out to a 23-19 lead after the first quarter. Zelenka had nine first quarter points, while Richards added seven and Swanson had five.
Fruitport Calvary outscored the Crusaders 14-13 in the second quarter to take a 37-32 lead at the halftime break. Zelenka finished the first half with 17 points.
The Eagles expanded their lead to 53-44 heading into the fourth quarter after outscoring Muskegon Catholic 16-12 during the third stanza.
Muskegon Catholic made a push to get back into the contest during the fourth quarter.
The Crusaders trailed 61-52 with five minutes left when Braden Gustin nailed a three-point bucket, then Bryan Convertini forced a turnover and scored a quick bucket to cut MCC’s deficit to 61-57.
The Eagles managed to hold on to their lead by going 8-for-14 from the free throw line down the stretch.
“We have some tough games coming up,” Coach Richards said. “We are going to battle everyone we can in this tough Alliance League. Today the ball just bounced our way.”
The Crusaders, now 6-10 on the season, were led by Gustin with a game-high 24 points while Convertini added 13.
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