Senior night turned into a battle for the Vicksburg varsity boys’ basketball team against the Portage Central Mustangs. The Bulldogs came into the contest with a 10-10 record in the year before slipping below .500 in a 62-50 defeat.
Vicksburg started the game strong, taking an early lead that was 12-9 after one. The boys rebounded well and were extremely efficient in their passing in the first. However, Portage Central quickly adjusted, turning the first half into a defensive battle.
Mitchell Beyer made the most of his senior night, leading the team in scoring with 24 points. Four of his baskets were three-pointers. Caden Chisholm was the next leading scorer with eight points. He drew a key foul on a field goal and successfully converted the free throw to keep the game close in the second.
Graham Kubiak was heavily involved in several steals and key rebounds. He ended the night with five points. Greyson Buikema and Nathan Vallier both had four points. Anthony Marchese sunk a single three-pointer. Rocco Marchese successfully made two free throws. The Bulldogs had a good night at the free throw line, going five for six.
The score was 20-20 at the half and it looked like things would continue to be low scoring. However, both teams opened up in the second half. It was 41-39 after three. Vicksburg tied it up seconds into the start of the fourth. Unfortunately, it was short-lived. The Mustangs then went on a 9-0 run, draining three three-pointers in a row. While the Bulldogs got more aggressive on defense in the second half, Portage Central used efficient passing to drain the clock. Vicksburg never fully recovered from the quick momentum shift.
This season has been something of a roller coaster for the Bulldogs. They won their first four games of the year before going on a five-game losing streak. The Portage Central loss snapped another three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. Their final win of that streak was 76-73 thriller against Otsego in a makeup game that was previously supposed to happen at the end of January. Winter weather forced a lot of changes to the schedule and also pushed a contest against Niles into February.
Vicksburg also defeated Plainwell 70-49 and Sturgis 51-45 during their short winning streak in February. Unfortunately, they ended the season with a 66-49 loss to Edwardsburg. They ended the regular season with a 10-12 record.
