Pewamo-Westphalia vs. Schoolcraft – – MHSAA Boys Division 3 Basketball Quarterfinal – – The Bleacher Denizen – – March 10, 2026 – – by Chuck Krafft

Tonight, the BleacherDenizenMobile is pointed at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, where the Eagles from Schoolcraft will face the Pirates from Pewamo-Westphalia in the MHSAA State Division 3 Quarterfinal. Schoolcraft enters this game with a 16-10 record while Pewamo-Westphalia is 24-2. The Pirates only losses have been to Grandville, a Division 1 team that won its district and Grand Rppids Catholic Central, a Division 2 team that won its regional.

While we wait for this game to begin, I hope you will enjoy this cover video of “House of the Rising Sun” from my You Tube Channel!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm7njm5177I

I have seen Pewamo-Westphalia play a couple times this season and have learned this about some of the Pirate players from Coach Dominic Spitzley.

Grady Eklund is a four-year varsity starter who is one of the finest players in Michigan. He has been All-State at least one year so far and is a complete player. He is an excellent ball handler who can play any position on the floor. He is tall enough and agile enough to attack the basket and score against any defense. He also has an accurate three point shot. He rebounds and defends well anywhere on the floor.

Trent Piggott is the big man in the middle for the Pirates. He is a tough defender and rebounder in the post. He can score in the post and he also brings an accurate three point shot to the Pirates. Logan Farmer runs the point much of the time. He is an excellent perimeter defender who is tall enough to help in the post. He is a strong ball handler who can slash to the basket or hit the three point shot. Tyler Spitzley is a tough defender who can defend in the perimeter or the post and is a threat to score on slashes to the basket.

Schoolcraft Coach Derrick Small also took the time to provide me with some background information about his Eagle players.

Jimmy Miller is a 6′ 10″ person who does a lot of the things you expect from a tall guy in the post. He is a tough post defender and rebounder who scores in the lane. However, he is also an excellent passer, a good ball handler and a solid three point shooter. Bryce Lambe runs the point for the Eagles. He is a strong perimeter defender who handles the ball and passes well. Ty Goddard is a versatile scorer who can slash to the basket to score or hit shots from the three point line. Kodee Bienz is an accurate three point shooter.

It is now time to review the events of this game through the occasionally alert 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 a lot of promise as a slam ‘dunker until the basketball powers that be raised the rim from five feet to ten feet. As your Bleacher Denizen’s hops have been compared to those of a hippopotamus, this meant he lacked the elevation to rise to the new hoop. As the dunks and the scoring disappeared, so did the Bleacher Denizen’s playing time. Alas.

Pewamo-Westphalia (generally abbreviated as P-W to save wear and tear on your aging Bleacher Denizen’s fingers) wins the opening tap. Tyler Spitzley tosses the ball to Trent Piggott, who throws in a threeball from the side to give his Pirates the first three points of the game. Trent Piggott draws a charging foul from the Eagles. P-W misses a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Schoolcraft takes possession. Ty Goddard passes to Bryce Lambe, who is fouled on a layup and hits two free throws to shave the P-W lead to 3-2 with 5:59 remaining in the opening quarter.

Trent Piggott passes to Grady Eklund, who his a layup for the Pirates. Trent Piggott blocks a Schoolcraft layup. Tyler Spitzley passes to Logan Farmer, who hits a three point shot from the side for P-W. Bryce Lambe passes to Brady Epple, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Grady Eklund drives and hits a layup to give P-W a 10-6 lead.

Schoolcraft loses control of the ball, but Ty Goddard picks up the loose ball and is fouled on a three point shot from the side. He hits two of his three free throws for the Eagles. Jimmy Miller blocks a Pirate driving layup. Ty Goddard hits a turnaround eight foot shot in the lane for Schoolcraft to tie the game at 10-10.

P-W misses a threeball from the side. Grady Eklund hits a putback for the Pirates. Grady Eklund steals the ball and passes to Ty Thelen, who hits a layup for P-W. Schoolcraft misfires on a triple try from the side. Logan Farmer passes to Grady Eklund, who hits a layup for P-W and is fouled. He sinks his free throw to give the Pirates a 17-10 lead with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter.

Nathan George gets his hand on the ball and knocks it out of bounds; P-W takes possession. The Pirates miss a threeball from the side. Schoolcraft misses a driving layup. P-W holds the ball for the last shot. The Pirates miss a layup. The Eagles miss a long heave as the first quarter buzzer seeks attention by blaring to end the period.

After one quarter, Pewamo-Westphalia has a 17-10 lead.

Schoolcraft inbounds the ball to open the second quarter. Trent Piggott blocks a driving Eagle six foot shot from the baseline. Jimmy Miller returns the favor and blocks a Pirate shot. Ty Goddard passes to Kodee Bienz, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Grady Eklund drives and hits a layup for the Pirates. Schoolcraft misfires a threeball from the side. P-W misses an eight foot shot in the lane. Trent Piggott hits a putback, is fouled and makes his free throw to give P-W a 22-12 lead with 6:43 remaining in the first half.

Logan Farmer knocks the ball away from Schoolcraft and Grady Eklund picks it up for P-W. Grady Eklund passes to Tyler Spitzley, who hits a fast break layup for P-W. Trent Piggott steals the ball and slams home a fast break dunk for the Pirates. Jimmy Miller passes to Parker Luteyn, who is cutting to the basket and hits a layup for Schoolcraft. P-W misses a threeball from the corner and fouls on the rebouind. Jimmy Miller drives and hits a layup to shave the P-W lead to 26-16.

P-W misses a layup. Caleb Blyth’s fierce defense forces an Eagle traveling violation. Grady Eklund hesitates, then bursts to the basket for a Pirate layup. Schoolcraft misfires on a triple try from the corner. P-W misfires on a triple try from the wing. Grady Eklund steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Pirates. He is fouled on the play and hits his free throws to give P-W a 31-16 lead with 3:20 left in the second quarter.

Schoolcraft misses a three point shot from the wing. The rebound goes out of bounds and the Pirates take possession. Grady Eklund passes to Trent Piggott, who hits a layup for the Pirates. He is fouled on the play and makes his free throw. With 2:38 to play in the second quarter, P-W has a 34-16 lead.

Schoolcraft commits an over and back violation. A Pirate pass receiver has his foot on the lane and turns the ball over. Logan Farmer’s tough defense causes a Schoolcraft traveling violation. P-W misses a threeball from the wing. Trent Piggott pulls down the offensive rebound for the Pirates. Logan Farmer drives and hits a layup to give P-W a 36-16 lead.

Schoolcraft misses a threeball from the corner. P-W reciprocates and misses a threeball from the corner. Logan Farmer steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup. He hits one of his two free throws with 21.5 seconds left on the second quarter clock. Schoolcraft misses a forty foot shot as the second quarter buzzer calls for a rest period.

Pewamo-Westphalia holds a 37-16 lead at halftime. Your Bleacher Denizen predicts the the lead will also be 37-16 when the third quarter begins.

Jimmy Miller and Ty Goddard each have 4 points to lead the Schoolcraft scoring at halftime.

Grady Eklund has 16 points for P-W and Trent Piggott has 11 points.

As there is no halftime activity, I hope you will enjoy these tunes from my You Tube Channel before the second half starts.

“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron” was a novelty hit for the Royal Guardsmen in 1966. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHucLvxuQx8

“Down South in New Orleans” was a country hit from the 1950s with a calypso style beat that was years ahead of its time! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUZ5FrpeFA

As Pewamo-Westphalia gets ready to inbound the ball to open quarter number three, the Bleacher Denizen glances at the scoreboard and smugly notes that the score is still 37-16. He begins patting himself on the back and several fans have to restrain him from twisting himself into a pretzel.

The Pirates ignore the Bleacher Denizen’s bizarre posturing and inbound the ball. They miss a layup; the rebound goes out of bounds and Schoolcraft takes possession. Jimmy Miller drives and hits a layup for Schoolcraft. Logan Farmer inbounds the ball to Grady Eklund, who hits a layup for the Pirates. Schoolcraft misses a threeball off the dribble from the wing. Logan Farmer passes to Nolan George, who hits a three point shot from the corner to give P-W a 42-18 lead.

Kodee Bienz passes to Brady Epple, who relays the ball to Bryce Lambe, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Schoolcraft. Tyler Spitzley hits a layup for P-W. Schoolcraft misfires on a threeball from the wing. P-W misses a twelve foot shot off the dribble from the baseline. Trent Piggott hits a putback to give the Pirates a 46-21 lead.

Schoolcraft misses a six foot shot off the dribble in the lane. Ty Goddard grabs the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Schoolcraft misses a layup. P-W misses a three pointer from the corner. Kodee Bienz is fouled on a ten foot up and under shot in the lane and hits one of his two free throws for Schoolcraft. with 3:53 remaining in quarter number three, the P-W lead is at 46-22.

Grady Eklund makes a spectacular dribble move and hits a layup for P-W. Kodee Bienz is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws for Schoolcraft. P-W misses a threeball from the corner. Sam Thelen fights for the rebound and causes Schoolcraft to lose the ball out of bounds. Kodee Bienz knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Brady Epple knocks the ball out of bounds; P-W retains possession. Ty Thelen inbounds the ball to Tyler Spitzley, who hits a layup to give P-W a 50-23 lead.

Ty Thelen steals the ball for the Pirates. P-W misses a fast break layup. Trent Piggott hits a putback for the Pirates. Trent Piggott and Tyler Spitzley leap; one or both of them blocks an Eagle layup. Grady Eklund hits a layup for P-W. Schoolcraft misses a three point shot from the wing. Grady Eklund drives and dunks the ball to give his Pirates a 56-23 lead.

Trent PIggott dives and knocks the ball loose; Schoolcraft recovers the ball. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the wing. The Pirates miss a three point shot from the corner. The rebound goes out of bounds and Schoolcraft gets the ball. Jimmy Miller passes to Parker Luteyn, who hits a layup for the Eagles. Kodee Bienz gets his hand on the ball, but P-W recovers. The Pirates miss a threeball from the wing as the buzzer announces that it is time to end quarter number three.

With three quarters in the books, Pewamo-Westphalia holds a 56-25 lead.

Schoolcraft inbounds the ball to open the final quarter. Tyler Piggott knocks the ball out of bounds; the Eagles retain possession. Schoolcraft misses a layup. Logan Farmer passes to Grady Eklund, who is fouled on a six foot shot from the baseline. Unfortunately, one of the Eagle starters fouls out on this play. Grady Eklund hits one of his two free throws to give P-W a 57-25 lead with 7:29 remaining in the game.

P-W gets the offensive rebound. Grady Eklund drives and slams home two points for the Pirates. Schoolcraft misses a ten foot shot off the dribble from the wing. Brady Epple gets the offensive rebound for the Eagles. Schoolcraft misfires on a threeball from the corner. Grady Eklund passes to Logan Farmer, who hits a layup for P-W. Ty Goddard hits a three point shot from the side for Schoolcraft. Kodee Bienz steals the ball and is fouled on a fast break layup; he hits two free throws for the Eagles. With 5:47 remaining in the game, the Pirate lead is at 61-30.

A technical foul is called on Pewamo-Westphalia. Kodee Bienz hits two free throws for the Eagles. Schoolcraft drives and misses a layup; the Eagles get the offensive rebound and Ty Goddard hits a three point shot from the side for the Eagles. Grady Eklund scores his 2000th career point by driving to the basket for a layup. He is fouled on the play, but misses his free throw. With 5:13 left on the clock, the Pirate lead is at 63-35.

Wyatt Wagner passes to Brady Epple, who hits a layup for the Eagles. P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Kodee Bienz passes to Ty Goddard, who is fouled on a three point shot and hits three free throws to trim the P-W lead to 63-40 with 4:29 remaining in the contest.

Kodee Bienz gets a hand on the ball and P-W loses it out of bounds. Schoolcraft misses an eight foot shot from the side of the lane. Luke Martin is fouled and hits one of his two free throws for P-W. Kodee Bienz is fouled on a driving layup and hits one of his two free throws for Schoolcraft. With 3:55 remaining, the Pewamo-Westphalia lead is at 64-41.

P-W throws a pass out of bounds. Kodee Bienz is fouled on a threeball from the side and hits one of his three free throws for Schoolcraft. Damon Huhn passes to Josh Bengel, who hits a layup for P-W. Wyatt Wagner passes to Kodee Bienz, who hits a three point shot from the wing for Schoolcraft. Damon Huhn drives and hits a layup for P-W to give the Pirates a 68-45 lead.

Schoolcraft misses a three point shot from the wing. Kodee Bienz steals the ball and hits a fast break layup for the Eagles. Alex Drysdale drives and hits a layup for P-W. Caleb Blyth blocks an Eagle layup; the loose ball goes out of bounds and Schoolcraft gets another opportunity. The Eagles miss a three point shot from the side. Parker Luteyn dives and nearly steals the ball for the Eagles.

Wyatt Wagner gets his hand on the ball, but the Pirates recover. Wyatt Wagner steals a Pirate pass. Schoolcraft misses a ten foot shot in the lane. P-W dribbles out the clock.

Pewamo-Westphalia wins this game by the final score of 70-47. The Pirates will play Flint New Standard Academy in the State Semifinal Thursday afternoon.

If my notes are accurate, here are the game’s scoring totals. (There was some disagreement between the two scorebooks at the table; thus, I went through my notes and did a “scorebook” to get these number.)

Kodee Bienz led the Schoolcraft scoring with 15 points. Ty Goddard joined his teammate in double figures with 13 points. Jimmy Miller added 6 points. Bryce Lambe scored 5 points. Brady Epple and Parker Luteyn each added 4 points.

Grady Eklund scored 29 points to lead Pewamo-Westphalia. (One of these was his 2000th career point!! Congratulations on a great career!) Trent Piggott supported his teammate with 15 points. Logan Farmer chipped in with 8 points. Tyler Spitzley tossed in 6 points. Nolan George scored 3 points. Josh Bengel, Ty Thelen, Damon Huhn and Alex Drysdale each had 2 points. Luke Martin tallied 1 point.