Boys freshman basketball dominates Cornerstone Holiday Tournament en route to championship win
More stories from Matthew Mahoney
Freshman Levi McKenzie led the boys freshman basketball team to two crushing wins over Allendale and Northpointe Christian to clinch the title in the Silver Division. In the two games, Levi combined for 42 points, securing wins of 75-28 over Allendale and 76-49 over Northpointe Christian.
From the get-go against Allendale, the Rangers dominated both offensively and defensively. By the end of the first quarter, the Rangers had a firm grip on the game already, leading 21-4 at the first break. While the Falcons picked things up a bit before halftime, FHC still led by a monstrous 44-14 advantage halfway through the game.
Besides Levi’s 16 points, freshman Timothee Larmande and Jake Koning assisted on the scoreboard, scoring 14 and 8 points, respectively. All of Timothee’s 14 points came in the third quarter, extending the FHC lead even further.
Throughout the second half, the Rangers were able to rotate through the entire lineup, getting everyone in during the duration of the game. There was no let off, either. The boys continued to score and defend well, giving up 14 points in the entire second half, while scoring 31 themselves to give FHC a 75-28 win.
Just under a week later, the Rangers took on Northpointe Christian in the championship game of the Silver division. Unlike the Allendale game, FHC got off to a very slow start, and the Mustangs were even leading at the end of the first quarter with a 15-10 advantage.
The second quarter was a whole different story, as the Rangers went on a 29-6 run throughout the next eight minutes. Levi scored 11 of his 26 points in the second quarter, and the lead for FHC was 39-21 at the half.
In the third and fourth quarters, it was the same story for both teams. The Rangers continued to score at will, and the Mustangs were struggling to find their rhythm. At the end of the day, the Rangers finished with a 76-49 win over a talented Northpointe Christian team, clinching their first championship of the boys’ high school basketball careers.
With these two wins, FHC advances to 3-1 on the season. The boys begin conference play on January 9 with a trip to Greenville.
Matthew is a senior at FHC and is on his third year on the FHC Sports Report, his second as Sports Editor in Chief. He has been the captain for varsity...