Fowler vs. Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian – – MHSAA Division 4 Boys Regional Basketball Final – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 5, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is headed back to Merrill where the Fowler Eagles will compete with the Defenders from Wyoming Tri-Unity Christian for the regional championship! It was a great day out with a bit of drizzle and your Bleacher Denizen made the hour drive from Lansing with no trouble.

Of course, the last time I saw these teams compete, they were playing for last year’s State Championship!! https://thebleacherdenizen.com/2025/03/15/fowler-vs-wyoming-tri-unity-christian-division-4-boys-basketball-state-final-the-bleacher-denizen-march-15-2025-by-chuck-krafft/

Tri-Unity Christian enters this game with a 23-1 record. Their only loss has been to Fruitport, a Division 2 team that won its conference and its district. Fowler brings a 23-2 record into the game. Their only losses were to Division 3 power Pewamo-Westphalia, who won the CMAC and is playing in a regional final tonight. We have two proven, battle-tested teams here!!

Joe Epkey is the big guy in the middle for Fowler. He is a tough rebounder and defender who makes it difficult for Eagle opponents to score in the post. On offense, he can overpower opponents to score in the post. Jonah Thelen is a versatile forward who is quick and agile enough to defend the perimeter well and can also cover opponents in the post. On offense, he is a good ballhandler and passer who can create off the dribble. He is a threat to score from the three point line or in the lane.

Dylan Pline runs the point for the Eagles. He is a determined defender on the perimeter who constantly competes and can generate turnovers from Eagle opponents. On offense, he is a classic point guard who finds open teammates, handles the ball and passes well and can score from either the three point line or on slashes to the basket.

Isaac Thelen is also a versatile forward who defends the post well or can chase opponents around the perimeter. He is a tough rebounder and physical player. He is a fine three point shooter who can also drive to the basket and overpower opponents to score in the paint. Aidan Riley is a tall guard who defends the perimeter well and can also cover opponents in the post when needed. He is a threat to score on slashes to the basket and also hits some three point shots.

Garrett Klein is a solid perimeter defender who can get hot from the three point line. Anthony Epkey, Joe’s brother is another player who defends the post well, rebounds and scores inside. Drew Weber is a tough perimeter defender.

Tri-Unity Coach Brandon Childress was also generous with his time and information about his Defenders.

Cody Osbun is an excellent rebounder who defends well and scores in the post. Brayden Nelson and Caleb Hoffman play on the wing where they defend the perimeter or the post and are capable shooters who can drive to the basket. Jake VanKlompenberg runs the point for the Defenders. He is an excellent ball handler and passer who defends the perimeter well.

Nolan Demots and Clayton Rowlader are good perimeter defenders who have excellent three point shots. I have learned that as of the beginning of this Regional Final, Clayton Rowlader needs six three point baskets to tie the Tri-Unity record for three point baskets in a season!

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally accurate eyes of an Aging Bleacher Denizen who was never able to escape church league when he attempted to hoop in the days of yore. He was showing some progress as a shot blocker until the basketball powers that be passed a rule stating that the Bleacher Denizen was no longer allowed to be strapped to the opposing basket with a harness.

When the Bleacher Denizen had to use his non-existent hops to try to get to the basket without the help of the harness, opposing shooting percentages went way up and the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time went way down.

Fowler wins the opening tap. Nolan Demots knocks the ball away from Fowler and Jake VanKlompenberg picks it up for Tri-Unity. Jonah Thelen steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a jump shot. Aidan Riley knocks a Defender pass out of bounds; Tri-Unity retains possession. Tri-Unity misses a threeball from the side. Cody Osbun snares the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Cody Osbun hits a putback to give the Defenders a 2-0 lead.

Fowler misses a jump shot. Tri-Unity misses a driving layup. Caleb Hoffman grabs the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Clayton Rowlader knocks the ball away from Fowler and Jake VanKlompenberg picks it up for Tri-Unity. The Defenders miss a fast break layup.

Nolan DeMots gets his hand on the ball, but Fowler recovers. The Eagles misfire on a threeball from the wing. The Defenders reciprocate and misfire on a threeball from the wing. Nolan Demots steals the ball for the Defenders and draws an Eagle foul as he does it.

Tri-Unity misfires on a triple try from the top of the key. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Dylan Pline gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three pointer from the corner. Clayton Rowlader is fouled on a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line and sinks two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 4-0 lead with 3:53 remaining in the opening quarter.

Isaac Thelen passes to Joe Epkey, who hits a layup to give the Eagles their first two points. Brayden Nelson drives and hits a layup for Tri-Unity. Fowler misses a layup. Clayton Rowlader hits a threeball from the corner to give Tri-Unity a 9-2 lead.

Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Joe Epkey pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Tri-Unity misfires on a threeball from the side. Fowler misses a driving reverse layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Tri-Unity takes possession.

Jonah Thelen ties up the ball for the Eagles. The Possession Arrow is waxing its car in the nice weather and misses the play; the ball is awarded to the Defenders. Caleb Hoffman hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Tri-Unity. Jonah Thelen passes to Joe Epkey, who is fouled as he shoots a layup and hits one of his two free throws. With 1:50 remaining in the first quarter, Tri-Unity has an 11-3 lead.

Aidan Riley steals the ball for Fowler. The Eagles miss a layup. Garrett Klein pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler is fouled on a layup and misses two free throws. Tri-Unity misfires on a three pointer from the wing. Brayden Nelson grabs the offensive rebound for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a three point attempt from the top of the key. Brayden Nelson is fouled on the rebound and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 13-3 lead with 36.9 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Dylan Pline is fouled on a threeball from the wing with 5.8 seconds to play in the quarter. He hits two of his three free throws for Fowler. Clayton Rowlader, who makes a habit of hitting three point shots passes this time and Nolan Demots hits a three point shot just as the first quarter buzzer decides to greet the world by ending the quarter.

After one quarter, Tri-Unity has a 16-5 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to start the second quarter. Aidan Riley passes to Isaac Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Fowler. Cody Osbun passes to Brayden Nelson, who hits a layup for Tri-Unity. Fowler misses a three point shot from the side. Tri-Unity travels with the ball. (Basketball cliches can be interesting. Somehow, I doubt that traveling without the ball would be terribly newsworthy.)

Caleb Hoffman ignores the Bleacher Denizen’s semantic musings and steals the ball for Tri-Unity. Cody Osbun whips a crosscourt pass to Brayden Nelson, who throws in a threeball to give Tri-Unity a 21-8 lead.

Fowler misfires on a triple try from the side. Jonah Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Brayden Nelson steals the ball for the Defenders. Caleb Hoffman, twists, drives and hits a layup for the Defenders. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Aidan Riley pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a layup. Joe Epkey steals the ball for the Eagles. Dylan Pline passes to Isaac Thelen, who hits a three pointer from the side to trim the Tri-Unity lead to 23-11.

Cody Osbun hits a ten foot shot off the dribble from the baseline for Tri-Unity. He is fouled on the play. He misses his free throw, but a lane violation gives him another shot and he hits it. Garrett Klein drives and dishes the ball to Anthony Epkey, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws for Fowler. With 4:15 remaining in the second quarter, the Defenders have a 26-12 lead.

The rebound from the missed free throw goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another possession. Fowler misses a driving layup. Tri-Unity commits a traveling violation. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the top of the key. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. Tri-Unity misses a threeball from the wing.

Cody Osbun steals the ball and throws it off an Eagle player. It goes out of bounds and Tri-Unity gets the ball. The Defenders miss a three pointer from the corner. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Joe Epkey hits a putback for Fowler to trim the Defender lead to 26-14.

Isaac Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles. Clayton Rowlader steals the ball for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a three pointer from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and Fowler takes possession. Fowler misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the side of the lane. Tri-Unity holds the ball for the last shot of the half. Clayton Rowlader passes to Jake VanKlompenberg, who quickly throws up a hook shot from the wing that goes through the hoop for three Defender points.

At halftime, Tri-Unity has a 29-14 lead. Your Bleacher Denizen will go out on a limb and predict that the score will be 29-14 at the start of the third quarter.

Isaac Thelen has 6 points and Joe Epkey has 5 points to lead Fowler’s scoring.

Brayden Nelson has 9 points for Tri-Unity at halftime. Caleb Hofmann has 6 points and Clayton Rowlader has 5 points.

After a bathroom break and a visit to the scorer’s table to learn who has scored points, we are ready to begin the second half. Your Bleacher Denizen smugly notes that the score is still 29-14. When the Bleacher Denizen nearly pulls every muscle in his shoulder trying to pat himself on the back, several fans intervene to get the shoulder ready so he can take his notes for the second half.

Tri-Unity inbounds the ball to get quarter number three underway. The Defenders misfire on a triple try from the corner. Brayden Nelson grabs the offensive rebound for Tri-Unity. Joe Epkey plays spirited defense and the Defenders throw the ball out of bounds. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the side. Tri-Unity reciprocates and misfires on a threeball from the side. Caleb Hoffman is fouled on a putback and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 31-14 lead with 6:54 remaining in quarter number three.

Caleb Hoffman nearly steals the ball for Tri–Unity, but Fowler recovers. Jake VanKlompenberg knocks a Fowler pass into the lane out of bounds; the Eagles retain possession. Cody Osbun gets a hand of the ball, but Fowler recovers. The Eagles miss a six foot shot from the side of the lane. Joe Epkey blocks a Defender fast break layup. The loose ball goes out of bounds and Tri-Unity gets another opportunity.

The Defenders miss an eight foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Isaac Thelen passes to Joe Epkey, who is fouled on a layup and hits one of his two free throws. With 4:57 to play in quarter number three, the Tri-Unity lead is at 31-15.

Caleb Hoffman hits a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the side for Tri-Unity. Fowler misfires on a threeball from the side. Jonah Thelen grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a jump shot. Jonah Thelen grabs another offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a threeball from the side. The Eagles get another offensive rebound and Isaac Thelen hits a layup for Fowler to cut the TriUnity lead to 33-17.

Jake VanKlompenberg hits a two point basket for Tri-Unity. (Your Aging Bleacher Denizen barely got the note in there; sorry that I did not record the type of shot. The action was fast and furious most of the game.) Jonah Thelen is fouled on a shot and hits one of his two free throws for Fowler. With 3:25 remaining in quarter number three, Tri-Unity leads 35-18.

Nolan Demots passes to Brayden Nelson, who relays the ball to Jake Van Klompenberg, who hits a layup for the Defenders. Dylan Pline passes to Isaac Thelen, who throws in threeball from the corner for Fowler. Anthony Epkey blocks a Defender layup. Cody Osbun knocks the ball out of bounds and Tri-Unity takes possession. The Defenders miss a threeball from the side. Jonah Thelen drives from the side and hits a layup for Fowler to trim the Tri-Unity lead to 37-23.

Isaac Thelen knocks the ball away from Tri-Unity and Jonah Thelen picks it up for Fowler. Cody Osbun steals the ball for the Defenders. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot from the side. Caleb Hoffman hits a putback for the Defenders. Dylan Pline passes to Jonah Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the top of the key for Fowler to bring the Eagles to within thirteen points at 39-26.

Jonah Thelen steals the ball for the Eagles. Cody Osbun gets back quickly to block a Fowler fast break layup. Cody Osbun hits a reverse layup just before the third quarter buzzer blares to call for the end to quarter number three.

With three quarters in the books, Tri-Unity has a 41-26 lead.

Fowler inbounds the ball to open the fourth quarter. Isaac Thelen whips a cross court pass to Jonah Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the side for the Eagles. Tri-Unity is whistled for a traveling violation. Fowler misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and the Eagles get another opportunity. Cody Osbun knocks an Eagle pass out of bounds to prevent a layup. Fowler retains possession.

Fowler misses a driving layup. Tri-Unity misses a three point shot from the corner. Fowler reciprocates and misses a three point shot from the corner. Aidan Riley pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Clayton Rowlader drives and dishes the ball to Caleb Hoffman, who hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 43-29 lead.

Cody Osbun knocks the ball away from Fowler and Nolan Demots picks it up for Tri-Unity. Isaac Thelen steals the ball for Fowler. Fowler misses a fast break layup. Jonah Thelen hits a putback for the Eagles. Isaac Thelen knocks a Defender pass out of bounds; Tri-Unity retains possession. Nolan Demots passes to Clayton Rowlader, who hits a three point shot from the side to boost the Defenders to a 46-31 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. Jonah Thelen pulls down the offensive rebound for the Eagles and falls to the floor. While on the floor, he passes to Joe Epkey, who is fouled as he shoots a layup. Joe Epkey hits one of his two free throws to shave the Defender lead to 46-32 with 3:49 left on the clock.

Caleb Hoffman passes to Clayton Rowlader, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give Tri-Unity a seventeen point lead. Fowler misses a ten foot shot from the side. Joe Epkey gets the offensive rebound for Fowler and passes to Isaac Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the corner for Fowler. Nolan Demots drives and hits a layup to give Tri-Unity a 51-35 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the wing. The Eagles get the offensive rebound. Jonah Thelen is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws. With 1:58 left in the game, Tri-Unity has a 51-36 lead.

Dylan Pline forces a Defender dribbler to lose the ball out of bounds; Fowler takes possession. Dylan Pline passes to Isaac Thelen, who throws in a threeball from the top of the key for the Eagles. Nolan Demots inbounds the ball to Cody Osbun, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to give Tri-Unity a 53-39 lead with 1:09 remaining.

Dylan Pline is fouled on a driving layup and hits two free throws for Fowler. Cody Osbun is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Tri-Unity. Fowler misses a jump shot off the dribble from the free throw line. A technical foul is called on Fowler, but Tri-Unity misses two free throws. Jonah Thelen steals a Defender pass. Aidan Riley passes to Jonah Thelen, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Fowler. Caleb Hoffman is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for Tri-Unity. With 25.6 seconds to go, the Defenders have a 54-44 lead.

Fowler misses a three point shot from the top of the key. Tri-Unity is called for traveling with about two seconds left. Fowler inbounds the ball and holds it until the buzzer ends the game.

Tri-Unity wins this regional final 54-44 and will play Onekama in the quarterfinal round on Tuesday.

Isaac Thelen led Fowler’s scoring with 17 points. Jonah Thelen supported him with 15 points, all in the second half. Joe Epkey scored 7 points. Dylan Pline put in 4 points and Anthony Epkey tallied 1 point.

Caleb Hoffman led Tri-Unity Christian with 15 points. Clayton Rowlader joined his teammate in double figures with 11 points and hit three three point shots, so he only needs three more to tie Tri-Unity’s record. Brayden Nelson supported his teammates with 9 points. Cody Osbun chipped in with 8 points. Jake VanKlompenberg scored 7 points (and made one of the wildest shots I have seen this year just before halftime.) Nolan Demots added 5 points.