Despite a 5-0 start to the year, not many thought Grand Rapids Union would be able to take down state power Muskegon.

They came darn close.

The RedHawks opened up on fire, taking a 9-2 lead right away. Then, the Big Reds battled back to make it 11-7, but Union pulled away again. That seemed to be the trend of the first three quarters. Every time Muskegon would pull close, the RedHawks would catch fire.

Union led by as much as 9 in the third quarter, but then the tide started to turn. Muskegon went on a run and pulled the score to within 32-30 at the end of the period. The Big Reds took their first lead of the game on a Jarvis Walker layup early in the first quarter, a lead they would not give up for the remainder of the game, as they won by a final score of 51-44.

Muskegon coach Keith Guy gave credit where it was due to the RedHawks, saying “I’ve gotta give a lot of credit to Grand Rapids Union, they played hard and controlled most of the game, our kids just fought and made plays when we needed to.”

Union head coach Brandoen Guyton made it clear after the game that he isn’t fine with just being close, he wants to win. When asked about how proud he was of his teams grit and fight to keep it close, he said “we don’t do moral victories (at Union).”

The RedHawks and Big Reds will meet once more this season on February 7th at Union High School.

Jarvis Walker led the Big Reds with 20 points and Jeremiah Pittman led Union with 16 points.