Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
HART — On a festive night in Hart High School’s packed gymnasium Thursday, members of Hart’s two-time conference champion girls basketball team stood front and center in the student section.
At halftime, state champions and all-staters from Hart’s cross country and track and field teams were celebrated at midcourt.
Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
Talk about setting the tone. Hart’s unbeaten boys basketball team followed suit, defeating visiting Mason County Central, 63-45, to win the outright West Michigan Conference Rivers Division title. It’s the first league championship for the Pirates’ boys basketball program since 1963.
It’s a winter sports season for the ages in Hart. These are the best of times for the Pirates.
This winter, Hart has also won WMC or WMC Rivers titles in competitive cheer, girls basketball and wrestling.
The Pirates’ boys basketball team improves to 19-0 overall and 10-0 in the WMC Rivers Division.
Here is a sights and sounds video, followed by details and notables from the Hart vs. Mason County Central game:
- Hart senior Parker Hovey, who is averaging nearly a triple-double and has posted a dozen triple-doubles this season, finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.
- Hart senior Diego Escamilla finished with 13 points.
- Hart senior Wyatt Dean provided a lift with 11 points.
- Escamilla and Dean made three 3-pointers apiece.
- Hart junior Blake Weirich finished with five points and 14 rebounds.
- Mason County Central senior Will Chye led his team with 17 points.
- Mason County Central senior Jayden Perrone had 13 points.
- Hart led Mason County Central 11-6 after one quarter, 29-19 at halftime and 49-30 through three quarters.
- Perrone, the Spartans’ second-leading scorer, found himself in foul trouble with three in the first half.
- Mason County Central’s record slipped to 14-6 and 7-3, respectively.
- Next up: Hart hosts Newaygo in a nonleague makeup game at 2 p.m. Saturday. It’ll be the Pirates’ final home game of the season. Next week, Hart visits Hesperia on Tuesday and Holton on Thursday. Mason County Central hosts Shelby on Tuesday and heads to Hesperia on Thursday.
Watch Hart coach Nick Bronsema’s emotional locker room speech to his team after the game:
See the Hart student section going wild, led by members of the Pirates’ girls basketball team:
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