Delton Kellogg High School

Tyler Howland looked like a senior playing for his basketball life in the fourth quarter at Saugatuck High School Wednesday. Howland has at least one more ballgame left in his junior season though after leading the Delton Kellogg varsity boys’ basketball team to a 50-42 win over Southwestern Athletic Conference Central Division foe Holland Black River in the MHSAA Division 3 District Semifinals in Saugatuck. He had 19 points, a handful of rebounds and a couple steals in the fourth quarter alone as the Panther team finished digging out of what had been a 25-13 halftime hole. It took 19 minutes for the Delton Kellogg boys to score its first 19 points as a team Wednesday night. Holland Black River took its 12-point lead into the halftime locker room and a 7-0 run by the Panthers to start the second half finally made it start to feel like a ballgame. Delton Kellogg outscored Black River 14-4 in the third quarter and then Howland took over. He tipped rebounds away from the River Rats. He rose above everybody to pull in a couple of offensive rebounds. One of those offensive boards kept a possession alive and then he finished that possession by burying a three that put DK in front 32-31 with 6:11 to go in the ballgame. It was Delton Kellogg’s first lead since 4-2 in the opening minutes. Howland had a putback that tied the game at 34-34. With 4:10 to go he chased an inbound pass from mid-court into the backcourt where he shook two Black River defenders and then went coast to coast for two points that put DK up 37-34. A minute after that with DK down one, sophomore teammate Grady Matteson was all set to cut through the lane when he looked up and saw Howland building momentum on the right wing. Matteson paused his run to leave the lane open for Howland who attacked the paint, rose up and kissed a floater off the glass for two that put Delton back in front 39-38. Another triple from Howland wiped out the last Black River lead of the night with 1:25 to go, putting Delton in front 42-40. Oh yeah, and he was 7-of-8 at the free throw line in the last 45 seconds. Howland finished with a game-high 24 points. Junior guard Keegan Hill added 11 points for the Panthers and McArthur had nine. Delton Kellogg swept its two games in the SAC Central with Black River this season, but started slow against the River Rats’ zone defense Wednesday night. The River Rats used their size advantage to do some good work on the boards, especially in the first half, and it took some real focus on attacking the basket for Delton Kellogg to right the ship. In the end, the Panthers outscored the River Rats 37-17 in the second half, and it could have been more if the Panthers had been better than 12-of-26 overall from the free throw line as a team. DK head coach Jason Howland was happy with how often his guys got to the free throw line though and thought 12 makes at the line is a big total this season. Black River had three guys in double figures led by 12 points from senior forward Charlie Reither, who was one of those guys pulling down key rebounds for the River Rats all night. Junior Jamison Huizenga and senior Adnrew Eklov had ten points apiece for Black River. Delton Kellogg will shoot for its second straight district championship Friday when it heads back to Saugatuck to take on Bloomingdale in the district final. Game time is set for 7 p.m. … Read more in next week’s edition of the Hastings Banner …