Miersma Dominates as WCS wins 4th Title In 7 Years
By Christian Bradley, BeantownHoops.com Central Mass. Correspondent
Worcester, MA- Throughout this year’s Central Mass Division 1, 2, and 3 tourneys, we have seen some excellent big men; including 6’9 Jr. Zach Auguste from Marlboro, 6’6 Sr. Ryan Romich from Groton-Dunstable, 6’7 Jr. Cedric Kuakumensah from North, 6’6 Sr. Chad LaBove from St. John’s, 6’5 Sr. Jose Cruz of Shrewsbury, and 6’6 Sr. Tim Swenson from Millbury.
But for those who didn’t know about Whitinsville Christian’s 6’7 Junior Center Hans Miersma, well, they certainly do now.
WCS center Hans Miersma had 17 points in the game and made his presence felt on both ends of the court
Miersma had 17 points in all on Saturday afternoon, scoring in a variety of ways; including mid-range jumpers, drop steps, tip-ins, and on some nice feeds from Freshman Colin Richey and Senior Captain Andrew Dykstra (each of whom had 13 points).
Dykstra was coming off perhaps the best game of his superb career at Whitinsville, as he led WCS with 31 points in a win in their semifinal matchup against Littleton.
The Crusaders took on the 24-0 Tigers of Maynard High School, led by 1000 point scorer Mike Fowler, who has consistently been one of Central Mass’ best point guards in his four years playing for coach Paul Howes.
Maynard, usually a hot-shooting, high scoring team, started off slow offensively in the first quarter, quickly staring at an 11-0 deficit, highlighted by an excellent conventional 3-point play by Dykstra to start off the game.
As the first half wore on, the Crusaders’ size advantage was clearly playing into their favor (Maynard’s biggest player, Jake Tyler, is listed at 6’2), as Miersma continued to be the most dominant player on the floor offensively, defensively, and everywhere in-between.
The first half of the game, which was held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, ended with a 31-19 score in favor of Whitinsville Christian.
It’s only expected that a team is 24-0 for a reason, as Maynard came out in the 2nd half looking poised for a comeback, and Whitinsville came out flat.
The Tigers run, capped off by a 3-point play by Fowler and a 3-pointer by Peter Frank, brought the lead down to just six points. A 47-41 score with 5 and a half minutes left in the game.
And the run stopped there, as Whitinsville did what they’ve done all year in close games, play great defense. Maynard scored three points in the last five and a half minutes of the game. Whitinsville held Mike Fowler to just seven points for the afternoon, thanks to great defense by Dykstra and Co-captain Kurt Steiner, who has started at guard for three years for the Crusaders.
WCS took away any possible chance for a Tigers’ comeback as Colin Richey scored on a fast break layup with about two minutes left.
Fowler was soon after subbed for in-between free throws, and received a loud applause from players of both teams, and from fans sporting their Maynard orange and black or Crusader blue, alike; a true sign of respect and farewell to perhaps the best to ever play at Maynard High.
Maynard’s Senior Captain Mike Fowler walks off the court to a storm of applause from the Harrington Auditorium crowd
The final buzzer sounded and Whitinsville Christian won the Central Mass. Division III championship by a score of 58-44. The Crusaders will play New Leadership Charter of Springfield, on Tuesday night at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield at 4:30. WCS improved to 20-4, and Maynard finished 24-1.
Crusader captains Andrew Dykstra and Kurt Steiner celebrate their Division 3 title as they recieve the championship trophy