PENTWATER – It’s been a slow climb to the top for Ashley Lubera and Pentwater’s boys basketball program. The summit of success hasn’t been eclipsed yet; the Falcons however, were feeling pretty good planting their flag after a 65-63 win over Baldwin Saturday, Jan. 25 – officially marking a regular season sweep of the Panthers.
The rivalry between Pentwater and Baldwin storied, but one need only dive into the history books from the past five years to see why.
In 2021, when the majority of the Falcons’ key pieces on the current roster started their freshman year, Baldwin was in the midst of its ascension in the West Michigan D League (WMD) ranks. With former Head Coach JJ Eads at the helm and coming off a 16-6 season in 2020-21 that left them third in the league, Baldwin marched to a second place finish in 2021-22 before claiming consecutive conference titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Pentwater on the other hand, had just claimed the WMD league title in 2019-20 before suffering a falloff that had them in sixth and fifth place the next two years. Last year signalled the start of something special for the Falcons though. Several defining victories that season had them set for a pair of marquee matchups with the Panthers. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to claim either meeting – something that’s been a common occurrence until now.
“It’s magical when we play (Baldwin). It’s always a great game year in and year out, even when JJ (Eads) was coaching,” Lubera said. “I think our guys have just matured through a lot of negative and positive experiences playing Baldwin, but both teams show up.”
Heading into this season. Baldwin had owned a 10-0 record against the Panthers over the last five years. That included two postseason games that knocked the Falcons out of contention for hardware. Then, in Pentwater’s third game of this season, the Falcons started their journey toward the top of the WMD, resetting the Panthers’ streak with a 63-50 contest on the road in Baldwin.
That gave them all the confidence they needed when the Panthers rolled into the Falcons’ home gym on Saturday.
Having to play a weekend game is never ideal, particularly when the team hadn’t been able to play the week prior due to inclement weather. Lubera and her squad didn’t blink, knowing that a season sweep would be a large moral victory, as well as a huge boost in the standings.
“(Baldwin) missed just as much as we did. We came in early today and I think that mattered,” Lubera said. “We got a little practice in yesterday and just kept walking through. It comes down to every possession against these teams and that’s the joy of the game. You don’t know who’s going to be the victor every game we play each other.
“With Marion beating Baldwin a couple of nights ago, we knew that if we lost tonight and we still had to play Bear Lake and Marion again, that could create a huge problem for us. This was our focus right now. One day at a time. This game was big for us to try and win a conference.”
The early minutes of Saturday’s meeting didn’t unfold in a favorable way for the Falcons. Baldwin opened the night on a 9-2 run as Pentwater struggled to guard the explosiveness of Panther junior guard Chance Dockery.
Pentwater senior Kaleb Brown found the Falcons’ lone points on that run and managed to knock in a three point shot that kick started the offense. Trailing 12-5 in the first, the Falcons went on a string of 14 unanswered points to close out the quarter. Mikey Carlson, Trey Johnson and Jonny Arnouts were responsible for all of those points, giving the Falcons their first lead at 19-12.
Baldwin started the second quarter much like the first, roaring out to a 9-2 start and knotting things up at 21-21. A series of offensive runs for both teams kept things even and closed out the first half with a 33-33 stalemate.
Dockery powered Baldwin with 13 points to lead all scorers in the first half, while Pentwater opted for its usual tactic of spreading the ball around. Johnson, Brown, Arnouts and Carlson all had seven points or more through two quarters, with Johnson leading the way with nine.
One of the largest storylines for Pentwater in the second half was the forced usage of depth players in the post. Carlson got into some foul trouble that limited his minutes down the stretch, while Nathan Macher – who usually spells him – missed a significant amount of time after landing awkwardly on his left ankle.
That meant junior Abram Kieda had to step up and play more minutes while smaller guys were pushed to make a great impact on the boards.
“It was a team effort tonight with the foul trouble and injuries. Abram (Kieda) had outstanding minutes tonight and he understood his role,” Lubera said. “He probably played two or three quarters tonight, which is a lot more than he has been. He did a great job down low and created a different presence. We were able to post him up on a weak player on Baldwin, and that gave us a couple buckets.”
The Falcons looked unstoppable in the third quarter. Arnouts, Carlson, Brown and Johnson combined for 13 unanswered points to start that period, pushing the Falcons out to their first double-digit lead of the night. Not to be outdone, Baldwin caught fire late in that same frame as sophomore Pierre Johnson carried the load, scoring all nine of the Panthers’ third quarter points.
With a comfortable lead, Pentwater headed into the fourth and final quarter with the score sitting at 50-41.
Comfortable quickly shifted to frantic for the Falcons in the fourth quarter. Baldwin regained the composure they showed in the first half and cut Pentwater’s lead to just a single point early in the final frame. Johnson, Kieda and Arnouts staved off the comeback the best they could, but the Panthers continued to tread water – despite trailing seven points late.
Baldwin struck a bit of fear into the Falcons’ gym in the final minutes after senior Louie Jackson knocked down three pointers on three consecutive possessions for the Panthers. The last of those buckets cut the deficit to two points and allowed Baldwin to tie the game at 61-61 on their next possession.
“We tried to just keep it positive with each other,” Lubera said. “There were moments of frustration, but we tried to just focus on playing each quarter, using our timeouts effectively and controlling our tempo most of all. Baldwin gets you in this frenzy and we can play with that frenzy at times, and at other times…
“Louie Jackson stepped up and hit three threes and (Baldwin) has four guys out there that can really shoot the ball or drive the lane. We did a great job defensively and a much better job rebounding in the second half after they ate us alive in the first.”
Macher re-entered the game in the fourth quarter after icing his ankle and applying a brace. His presence proved critical as he knocked down a free throw that gave the lead back to Pentwater.
Baldwin responded by converting on a layup the other way, but fouls ultimately did the Panthers in. Brown and Johnson each earned trips to the free throw line in the final minute, sealing the game and giving the Falcons a season-defining victory.
In the end, it was Johnson who led the Falcons in scoring with 18 points to go along with three rebounds and three steals. Arnouts had a fantastic game, scoring 16 and dishing out eight assists while Carlson posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Brown had 13 points as well, but it was his tenacity on defense and relentless pressure on rebounds (five) that was key in the victory.
“(Brown) is outstanding. I give him the hardest defensive job every day and he steps up to that,” Lubera said. “We know statistically there’s not a lot of rewards for that except wins, and if he can continue to be that muscle for us, the sky’s the limit.”
Pentwater moved to 12-2 overall with the win and maintained their hold on the WMD at 7-1. The Falcons will continue to run the gauntlet of top teams in the conference as they host Marion (9-4, 4-2 WMD) for homecoming Friday, Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.
The Eagles bested the Falcons in their first meeting, stealing a 57-55 victory. Pentwater also has Bear Lake (8-5, 6-2 WMD) next week. The Lakers are currently sitting in second in the WMD ranks behind Pentwater.
Note for Pentwater fans: The Pentwater JV boys basketball team has cancelled the remainder of their season. Varsity games may be subject to time change for the remainder of the year.
