MT. PLEASANT – The clock struck midnight on a fairytale-esque season for Pentwater boys basketball Tuesday, March 4. The Falcons fell to Muskegon Heights Academy 74-63, ending their postseason journey in the regional semifinals.
It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Pentwater on Tuesday. In fact, the Falcons were feeling pretty good after the first quarter saw them own a 15-9 advantage over the Tigers.
Senior Trey Johnson had a huge part in that, scoring eight points in the opening frame and adding a few steals to the mix as well. Unfortunately, Johnson’s impact was two-fold. His aggressive nature led to a lead, but also put three personal fouls on the board, leaving him two shy of exiting the game after just eight minutes of play.
“Our guards got into foul trouble in the first half. There was just a lot of hand contact that’s reasonable for a game like this,” Pentwater Head Coach Ashley Lubera said. “That kind of made us pull back defensively because we didn’t want to draw that fourth foul. It also made us substitute a little differently than normal.”
Johnson had to ride the pine to start the second quarter, knocking him out of the rhythm he’d established early. That allowed Muskegon Heights to draw closer in that second stanza.
The Tigers went on a 6-2 run to start that quarter, closing the lead to just a single point. Mikey Carlson played a little bit of hero ball, scoring 10 points for the Falcons to bring his tally to 15 in the first half.
As halftime neared, Muskegon Heights went on a 8-0 run and snagged their first lead of the game with two minutes left in the second quarter. Carlson hit a three for Pentwater and Abram Kieda followed up with two points of his own, allowing the Falcons to maintain a slim 29-27 lead at the break.
“Muskegon Heights went on a run on us in the second quarter,” Lubera said. “That’s just their ability, athletically, to finish at the rim. It was a rebounding battle and I think (the Tigers) just fed their posts better than we did.”
Johnson returned to the starting lineup in the second half, though Muskegon Heights was prepared. The Tigers made a point to pester Johnson and Jonny Arnouts anytime they touched the ball, making it difficult for Pentwater to move the ball effectively.
“We were trying to get screens for (Johnson and Arnouts), but it was just (Muskegon Heights’) presence and hustle that caught us off guard a bit,” Lubera said. “We had 13 total turnovers for the game and our goal is always under 10…we typically average eight per night. Add five more than normal tonight, and there’s several points.”
The Tigers did a majority of their damage at the start of the third quarter. Out scoring Pentwater 10-2 in the opening minutes allowed them to take the lead and add some cushion. The Falcons traded shots after that. A string of six points for Pentwater brought the deficit to just three, but Muskegon Heights closed out the third with strong play, leading 49-42 with eight minutes left to play.
Deadly shooting from beyond the arc spelled the end to Pentwater’s night in the fourth quarter. Tigers’ senior Cardair Vance knocked down three from deep, staving off sporadic bursts of scoring from Pentwater.
Intentional fouls became necessary in the final minutes, but the Falcons were never able to get closer than four points from the lead.
Carlson finished the night with an eye-popping stat line, tallying a double-double at 30 points and 13 rebounds. Johnson had 11 points and four steals, while Kieda added eight points and four rebounds. Arnouts and Brody Austin each recorded five points on the night.
Pentwater finished their year at 21-3 overall, snagging two trophies with a West Michigan D League conference title and a district championship in the books.
An impactful senior class will be missed as Johnson, Carlson and Arnouts are joined by Nathan Macher and Kaleb Brown as notable departures for next year. Lubera hopes that the time spent with those athletes cultivated lifelong friendships and fostered a love for the game.
“At the end of the day, it’s about relationships,” Lubera said. “Coach (Pete) DuMonte and I built great everlasting friendships with Jon (Arnouts), Trey (Johnson), Kaleb (Brown), Mike (Carlson) and Nathan (Macher). What a fantastic season. Hopefully we have a forever friendship and they want to come back around the game. Maybe they’ll make future coaches themselves. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and I’m super proud of my seniors.”
