Three significant basketball defeats, and what they mean

Shane Tiemeyer is a large reason for the Dux success | Louis Murray, Murray Sports Photography

If you are one of three teams in WMA’s Top-10 rankings this week, you did not enjoy your Tuesday night game.

After going a combined 31-1 between them entering this week, Schoolcraft (#4), Zeeland West (#5) and Muskegon Western Michigan Christian (#8) all suffered losses on Tuesday night.  And apart from Western Michigan Christian, all of them were rightly considered “upsets.”

So, besides the consequential reshuffling of next week’s rankings, what effect, if any, will these losses have on the teams who suffered them?  Will there be any long-term consequences and repercussions, or was Tuesday just the obligatory speed-bump on the way to a mature post-season campaign?

Let’s examine.

Muskegon Heights-67, Muskegon Western Michigan Christian-51

Touted as the most compelling matchup since Golddigger+Beethoven (and yet tragically supplied with only 1,200 seats), Tuesday’s battle between the #1 ranked teams in Class-B and Class-D (both unbeaten) certainly lived up to its billing. Unfortunately, no matter how talented either team was, and how well they played, Tuesday was going to leave a bad taste in somebody’s mouth.

Despite the loss, Western Michigan Christian hung with arguably the #1 team in the state for most of three quarters — not bad no matter who you are, but especially for a Class-D school.  The Warriors’ Evan Bruinsma and London Burris are talented enough to start for almost anyone, but what is often overlooked are the substantial talent and contributions of their supporting cast — Tyler Ray and Jeff Burris leading that group.

Loss to the Heights or not, WMC has massive talent relative to the rest of their competition.  As good as the Heights is, the fact that the Warriors stayed with them at all is impressive.

Holland Christian-70, Zeeland West-58

After handing the Dux the second of their two total defeats, it’s safe to say that Holland Christian knows something about Zeeland West that most don’t.  In basketball as a sport, but especially at the high school level, oftentimes the difference is made by which team matches up best, and the Maroons match up extremely well with Zeeland West.

The Dux’ have used their perimeter height, as well as that of their frontline, to large advantage this season.  Because of that they tend to play at a relatively slower tempo.  But Holland Christian has their number because they have the size to equal that of Zeeland West, combined with an uptempo style of play that has frustrated the Dux, lead by Simon VanLangevelde and Brent Konyndyk.

While Zeeland West will surely recover from this loss, it should also serve to illuminate a weakness in the Dux armor-plated-feathers.  Particularly on the defensive end, they are vulnerable to a tall team that plays at a fast pace.  They’ll need to address that over the next round of games, before they meet multiple tall/fast teams in the post-season.

Also of note, after finally figuring out what kind of team they are, Holland Christian is beginning to hit their stride this season.  They’ve certainly got the firepower to do some damage in March.

Parchment-64, Schoolcraft-60

After winning 28- of their past 29-contests, including 20-consecutive in the KVA, Schoolcraft’s unlikely loss to Parchment resonates the loudest of the three.  Up until Tuesday the Eagles had been absolutely demolishing their competition all season (apart from one contest against Kalamazoo Christian), and had previously smacked Parchment with a 74-53 loss in the season opener, so this is a huge win for Parchment even though they are accustomed to victory by now at 10-2.

That fact is also a commentary on just how far removed Schoolcraft was from the rest of West Michigan’s Class-C teams.  That being the case, this loss should serve to bring the Eagles back down to Earth, which actually may end out helping them in the long run as it can be difficult to carry the mounting pressure of an undefeated season through the tournament.

However, more so than any previous opponent, Parchment’s Adrian Patton was able to contain Schoolcraft’s Kody Chandler by face-guarding him in the second half.  Chandler still got 19, but only four on 1-9 shooting in the final 16-minutes.  Is this a tactic that future Eagle opponents can successfully replicate?

Let me hear your thoughts.  What do you think will be the long-term effects, if any, of these three losses?  How will the teams rebound?  Comment away below!

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