Seven boys basketball teams from the West Michigan Conference tipped off their 2023-24 seasons on Tuesday, Nov. 28.
Here is a roundup of the action:
Photos by Kara Raeth | CatchMark
MONTAGUE 50, WESTERN MICHIGAN CHRISTIAN 43: Senior Isaiah Atchison posted a double-double and packed the stat sheet in leading Montague to a season-opening road victory over Western Michigan Christian in Nick Thaler’s first game as Wildcats boy basketball coach. Thaler coached Montague’s girls basketball team the past two seasons.
“Great to start the year off right. WMC is a very well-coached and prepared team. We did not play our brand of basketball the first half — maybe first-game jitters, which is understandable,” Thaler said. “These kids are so amped up. They just needed to let the game come to them and execute down the stretch. Great way to start off the season.”
Montague leaders:
Isaiah Atchison 13 points, 13 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 blocks
Owen Raeth 11 points, 6 assists, 4 steals
Jack Degen 8 points
Kellan Francis 8 points
Western Michigan Christian leaders:
No stats submitted
Records:
Montague 1-0
Western Michigan Christian 0-1
***
FREMONT 65, SHELBY 27: Visiting Fremont got balanced scoring in posting a season-opening victory in WMC nondivisional play against Shelby.
“I thought we played extremely hard, and I was very happy with how we played overall, especially for our first game,” Fremont coach Adam Bowen said. “Our defense was great, and we played with great pace offensively. We took care of the ball and our ball movement and shot selection were really good.”
Fremont leaders:
Chaz Miller 18 points
Will DeBlake 16 points
Ben Mellema 12 points
Gavin Richards 9 points
Shelby leaders:
No stats submitted
Records:
Fremont 1-0
Shelby 0-1
***
NORTH MUSKEGON 74, MUSKEGON CATHOLIC CENTRAL 30: Host North Muskegon got off to a quick start and never looked back in its season-opening victory over Muskegon Catholic Central in nonleague play. The Norsemen outscored the Crusaders 24-11 in the first quarter.
“We were able to get game pace fast and jump out to a good first quarter,” North Muskegon coach Chuck Rypstra said. “Catholic battled us all night long and had some nice plays. In the end we just played a little better.”
North Muskegon leaders:
Lamarkis Graham 18 points, 3 assists, 3 steals
Adam Dugener 16 points, 4 assists
James Young 11 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Jaxon Lisinski 9 points, 5 assists
Talan Thompson 9 points
MCC leaders:
Jacob Lyonnaise 8 points
Q. Lorenz 7 points
Records:
North Muskegon 1-0
MCC 0-1
***
RAVENNA 56, KENT CITY 49: Visiting Ravenna relied on its bench to help overcome early-season injuries to pull out a season-opening victory over Kent City.
Ravenna leaders:
Dylan May 18 points
Chase Thomas 14 points
Wyatt Young 11 points
Kent City leaders:
No stats submitted
***
Manistee junior Kaden Kott (Courtney Jimison)
MANISTEE 52, MASON COUNTY CENTRAL 43: Visiting Manistee outscored Mason County Central in the second half, 27-16, to earn the WMC nondivisional victory and improve to 2-0 on the young season.
Manistee leaders:
Kaden Kott 17 points, 2 assists
Tramel Caviness 13 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists
Mason Gunnett 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists
MCC leaders:
Cole VanderHaag 11 points
Braylin Thurow 11 points
Records:
Manistee 2-0
Mason County Central 0-1
***
HESPERIA 52, WALKERVILLE 40: Ethan O’Neil posted a double-double to power Hesperia to a season-opening, nonleague victory at home over Walkerville.
Hesperia leaders:
Ethan O’Neil 15 points, 14 rebounds
Nicholas Guarnieri 12 points
Walkerville leader:
Collin Chase 18 points
Records:
Hesperia 1-0
Walkerville 0-1
