“It was a night oh oh what a night. It was it really was such a night.” — Elvis Presley
Wayland, on a snowy Snowcoming Friday night, posted perhaps the high school hoops upset of the year with a thrilling 59-53 overtime victory over a Grand Rapids Christian ballclub that entered the game with a 10-1 record.
The Eagles were sitting atop the O-K Gold Conference standings with an unbeaten record, their only loss coming at the hands of nonleague rival Grand Rapids Catholic Central. It’s a good thing they make the teams play the game rather than just compare them on paper.
It featured a back and forth game with a wild ending.
The final seconds of regulation saw Marcus Haveman hit a three-pointer and a free throw to put GR Christian up by two. The Wildcats advanced the ball to half court, but senior guard Carson Sevigny’s three-pointer was waived off because of timeout that was called before he launched the shot.
The in-bounds pass went to senior center Cory Ainsworth who scored inside to send the game to overtime.
Wayland outscored the Eagles 6-0 in the extra session to secure the victory.
Ainsworth led the Wildcats with 29 points and senior forward Jack Donewald counted 12. Kobe Bufkin scored 220 points for GR Christian and Havemen dropped in 15.
The victory lifted Wayland’s overall season record to 9-4. The Wildcats are 4-2 in conference play.
COVER PHOTO: Zoe Antel and Rory Bessinger were selected 2019 Snowcoming Duke and Duchess at the Wayland High School Snowcoming Friday evening. The community also donated $5,500 to the American Cancer Society in the Coaches vs. Cancer charity game.
