Photos by Laura Moat for CatchMark
Jayden Perrone scored a game-high 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Mason County Central to a key West Michigan Conference Rivers Division boys basketball victory over host North Muskegon Friday night.
The Spartans (2-0, 1-0 WMC Rivers) and Norsemen (1-1, 0-1) are both expected to be contenders for the WMC Rivers title.
“Obviously, North Muskegon is probably the preseason favorite to win our division, so we knew going in it was no easy task,” Mason County Central coach Tim Genson said. “We felt like we put ourselves with our conditioning and regiment and things we’ve done to be a better fourth-quarter than what we’ve been and that was very evident.”
The game was tied at 39 midway through the fourth quarter after North Muskegon’s James Young hit a free throw, but Mason County Central closed with a 12-5 run to seal the victory.
The Spartans led 22-18 at halftime.
“It was tied a couple different times in the fourth quarter, but they just made one more play and then made their free throws down the stretch,” North Muskegon coach Chuck Rypstra said.
Mason County Central’s Will Chye, who scored 34 points in the Spartans’ season-opening win over Manistee, went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter against the Norsemen. Chye went 11-for-12 from the free-throw line for the game and he grabbed five rebounds.
Jack VanderHaag added seven points for the Spartans and he helped set the tone defensively, according to Genson.
Young paced North Muskegon with 13 points and four steals. Troy McManus had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Sam Gallo contributed nine points and six rebounds. Lamarkis Graham added seven points for the Norse.
Next, Mason County Central visits Holton on Thursday (Dec. 15). North Muskegon hosts Western Michigan Christian on Monday (Dec. 12).
“I think it was a really good, close high school game. We were very steady throughout the game,” Genson said. “I think (the win is) big. For these boys, they hadn’t been able to ever really beat North Muskegon in anything regardless of what sport we’ve played them. We had overtime with them last year, had some decent games, but we’ve never been over the hump. It’s a compliment to Chuck for how good of a program they’ve been.
“I told the boys, ‘You get to wear the bull’s-eye now.’ When you beat the league favorite in their gym, that’s how it goes. We’ll see how it all plays out, from a confidence standpoint.”
