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In this year of Grand Rapids Union living dangerously, the Red Hawks' record has somehow remained unscathed. Included in that 17-0 mark are now four hardcore road wins, by three at Forest Hills Central, two at Greenville, one point at Holland and on Tuesday one point again, 52-51 in double overtime at Grand Rapids Christian.
In the first half, Christian couldn't guard Union's star, 6-foot-3 junior Ladon Carnegie. His finesse post game split and left hapless the Eagles' bigger frontcourt for 11 points and board superiority before the break. In the second half, Christian extended its zone to cut off entry options and it became much rarer for Carnegie to get touches in his sweet spots (right around the basket, basically). He finished wit 18 points and 11 rebounds. With Carnegie having to negotiate the rest of his scoring at the foul line or not at all, Christian led by as many as 10 in the second half. Union was able to stay in the game thanks to an unlikely hero. The Hawks only dressed 10. When one of the first five, senior guard Freddie Simpson, hurt his knee, only to have a member of the next five, another senior guard, Gilbert Barrientes, come in and not just provide steady ball-handling but make both his three-point attempts. I thought the pa announcer was saying calliente, and he may has well been. Game MVP! Union's defense was amazing itself down the stretch. In the fourth quarter and two overtime periods, Christian managed just seven points. Union's short bench also had to stand tall when the starting center, 6-3 senior Shyquarius Hunter, was whistled for his third foul -- with 3:30 left in the first quarter. Amazingly, he didn't end up dq'd. That dearth of fouls helped Union in the end, when it was able to reach in and slow down Christian with just in-bounds consequences, while on the other end the Hawks were winning the game at the stripe. Both teams had chances to finish it. Two minutes after backcourt mate Javin Hardley was baited by Union's zone into an impuslive three-point miss, Christian's Matt Grasmeyer's one-footed fadeway hit nothing as regulation ended. Grasmeyer air-balled another at the end of the first period, but 6-4 senior Alex Mustert found the ball and Lorenzo Charles Jr'd it in for OT No. 2. The only point of that final period came with 37 second to play on a foul shot by reserve junior guard Marquis Chapman. The Eagles held too long on the final possession, missing Mustert alone under the hoop in favor of the last-second shot, a three-point heave from Hardley which hardly had a chance. |
