Ten Best: Muskegon vs Kenowa Hills
Muskegon was the favorite going into the game and they proved it with a dominating win. It was all Muskegon from the jump, as they led 12-5 at the end of the first. They controlled the game in pretty much every aspect, but what was most impressive was their defensive efforts. In fact, no player from Kenowa Hills scored more than 7 points. Additionally, only 2 players from Kenowa Hills scored more than once, with senior Anthony Anes scoring 7 points and sophomore Rohpinder Singh scoring 5 points. Muskegon finished this dominating performance with a 72-24 victory.
Here’s my ten best:
MVP/Offensive Player of the Game – Jermayne Golidy, Muskegon (2017)
Golidy was the leading scorer in this game, finishing with a final line of 23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and a block. Not only did the three steals and block highlight Muskegon’s defensive dominance, Golidy dropped a solid 23 points, essentially in 3 quarters since Muskegon payed their reserves the entire fourth. While every player from Muskegon had a good game, Golidy’s performance stands out as the best. This is because he scored 15 of his 23 in the third quarter when Muskegon made a huge run to really put Kenowa Hills away. He was the leader offensively and was nearly unguardable when aggressive. He scored in a variety of ways, from strong takes to a trio of threes.
Defensive Player of the Game – Anthony Bethea, Muskegon (2017)
Bethea was active all night, from cleaning the glass to defending to making plays on offense. It was his defensive presence and activity on the glass that stood out most. He finished with a final line of 10 points, 9 rebounds and 2 steals. While Golidy led the way offensively, Bethea led Muskegon in just about every other way.
Best Guy Off the Bench/Best Underclassmen – DeAndre Carter, Muskegon (2019)
Statistically, Carter may not have had the most dominating performance, but he had the biggest impact off the bench. Muskegon didn’t go deep for most of the game, but they played all their reserves the whole fourth quarter. It was then that Carter stood out, controlling the offense and playing great defense. He’s only a sophomore and is very talented, so I believe he has a promising future. He finished with 4 points and a steal.
Best Intangibles – Markell Jackson, Muskegon (2017)
Jackson is perhaps the biggest star on this Muskegon squad, so it was surprising that he didn’t score a single point in this game. He didn’t attempt many shots, which proves his value besides just as a scorer. He finished with a final line of 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks. Many stars would let the lack of scoring affect their game overall, so it speaks volumes that he was able to turn in a stellar defensive performance and impact the game in other ways.
Best Under-the-Radar Performance – Billie Roberts, Muskegon (2020)
The big man didn’t get any minutes until the reserves came in at the beginning of the fourth, but had a decent game. He is built physically and has decent athleticism, so he has a ton of potential. In this game he had 2 points, 3 rebounds and a block, which isn’t super impressive. What’s more relevant, however, is his potential. In addition to being solid in this game, he saw some minutes in the Muskegon’s regional game against Grand Rapids Christian, who have two of the best bigs in the state. Roberts again played solid, but nothing special. However, proving that he can at least hang with two future D1 bigs shows his high ceiling.