By BUTCH HARMON
PEWAMO – WESTPHALIA – Tough defense, deft ball handling and a quick start added up to a huge win for the Laingsburg Wolfpack in the Class C regional semifinals against Grandville Calvin Christian. Those elements all came together for the Wolfpack who defeated Calvin Christian, ranked 5th in the state in Class C 61-52 in the regional game at Pewamo-Westphalia High School.
The Wolfpack grabbed a quick 9-0 lead and built the margin to 18-6 at the end of the first quarter. From there the Wolfpack never surrendered the lead as they played tight defense on Calvin all-state guard Brad Visser and milked the clock to shorten the game.
Laingsburg also received a big game from senior Jacob Zielinski who led all scorers with 32 points.
“Our defense pressure really helped,” Zielinski said. “Our focus on defense was stopping number 12 (Visser). Zach Walker did a great job on him. We went through a couple of tough stretches but coach would call a time out and settle us down.”
Walker limited Visser to 14 points for the game.
“We knew coming in how hard we had to work,” Laingsburg coach Greg Mitchell said. “Calvin Christian is a very good team and Visser is an excellent guard. Zach Walker did a great job on him. He held him to 10 points under his average. We’re use to playing against big, talented guards.”
Laingsburg also received 11 points from Shaun McKinney and eight points from Sam Edwards.
The Wolfpack led 27-14 at halftime and were up 40-27 heading into the fourth quarter.
Calvin cut the deficit to 47-42 midway through the fourth quarter but were unable to draw closer. Laingsburg spread the floor out and outscored Calvin 13-9 to end the game.
“The first quarter killed us,” Calvin Christian coach Ryan Stevens said. “They (Laingsburg) came out with a lot of intensity and forced some turnovers. Over the last three quarters we beat them, but we couldn’t overcome the first quarter.”
With the win, Laingsburg improved to 21-2 for the season.
“We knew we had our work cut out for us,” Mitchell said. “We were not as big as they are but we play big by being tough and physical. We also pressured the ball well and did a good job on offense.”