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Portagers Roll in Opener
Capper’s 29 Points Power Onekama past Brethren
By MATT WENZEL: Manistee News Advocate
Sports Editor - Onekama
senior Levi Capper was determined to start his senior season in style.
The smile on his face after the game told the whole story.
Capper scored a game-high 29 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and chipped in
five steals and three assists as Onekama cruised to a 61-33 win over
Brethren on Friday night.
After waiting eagerly for the start of the season, the Portagers
exploded out of the gate by building an early double-digit lead and
never looking back in the West Michigan D League match-up.
“We had to start out going full
speed, or else we wouldn’t get the intensity going,” Capper said.
Onekama (1-0, 1-0) dominated in almost every facet of the game and gave
new coach Roger Smith little to complain about after the final horn
sounded. “I’m pleased with the first game, that’s for sure,” he said.
Alex Sexton, who’s in his first year coaching the Bobcats, couldn’t say
the same. “It was a real frustrating night,” he said. “We just got
outworked.”
The Bobcats (0-1, 0-1) committed 27 turnovers to the Portagers’ 13, and
were outrebounded on both sides of the floor.
“They crashed the offensive boards, and we didn’t box out,” Sexton said.
“When we did get the rebound, it seemed like we just threw it away. They
outworked us — they wanted it more tonight.”
Onekama senior Hunter Slade finished with 11 points and four steals,
Skyler Kimpel had seven points, Ryan Miller had six points and a
team-high 15 rebounds, Adrian Norman scored five and Justin Zupin had
three.
Josh Sexton led Brethren with 11 points and 10 rebounds, Roddy MacNeil
had eight, Wade Milnickel five, Myles Burns scored four and had three
assists, Jason Marsh chipped in three points and Jose Acosta two.
While it took almost three minutes for either team to make a field goal,
Capper made up for lost time by pouring in 11 first-quarter points as
Onekama built a 12-1 lead with 2:47 left.
Norman knocked down a 3-pointer to put Onekama ahead, 19-1, before
Brethren’s Josh Sexton scored his team’s first basket with 30 seconds to
play in the quarter as the Bobcats trailed, 19-3, heading into the
second. |
Brethren senior Myles Burns
(20) tries to steal the ball from Onekama freshman Adrian Norman
during the second half on Friday night. (Matt Wenzel/News Advocate)
After falling behind by 18 at the
start of the second quarter, Brethren cut the deficit in half with a 9-0
run, and trailed, 21-12, with 1:30 left in the half.
“We didn’t do well in the second quarter,” Smith said. “We lost our
composure a little bit on our (defensive) positions and let them back
into the game a little bit.” Onekama closed the first half
on a 5-0 run to lead, 26-12, at halftime.
The Portagers reclaimed an 18-point lead early in the third quarter on
back-to-back 3-pointers by Slade and Capper, and continued to dominate
the glass. Capper finished the game with nine offensive rebounds, and
said being successful at crashing the boards is a simple situation.
“It’s just how much you want it,” he said.
Onekama held a 49-26 lead at the end of the third quarter and cruised
down the stretch for the win. While Smith was happy with the 61 points
his team scored, he was a lot more interested in the 33 it held Brethren
to.
“I’m just pleased with our defense because that’s what we’ve been trying
to stress,” Smith said. “If they play defense, they have a good chance
of winning. The intensity was really good on the defensive side. They
hustled and got the ball up the floor.”
The Onekama junior varsity team
topped Brethren in overtime, 50-47. Kyle Acker led Onekama with 14
points while Tanner Kott had 12. |
