Hudsonville opens new gym by beating Unity Christian

Hudsonville sophomore Jovan Daniels shoots a 3-pointer in the opening of the new fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. He would hit the first bucket for the boys basketball team. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

HUDSONVILLE, Mich. - Brayden Szamrej said walking out of the locker room and into a packed gym was almost overwhelming. 

“It was exciting,” the Hudsonville senior said. “Coming out here in front of a crowd like this … most of us haven’t done that before. Coming out here and seeing all the people was pretty sweet.”

The Hudsonville High School boys basketball team won the first game in the history of their new fieldhouse with a 67-53 win over neighborhood rival Unity Christian on Friday night in front of a packed house of more than 4,000 fans. 

“The energy was really great,” sophomore Jovaan Daniels said. “I liked having a big student section. Having a big crowd brings more adrenaline.”

Daniels had a team-high 17 points on five 3-pointers, Jalen Oosting had 14 points, Joey Miller 13 and Griffin Baker had 12 for Hudsonville (4-2), which claimed the Salad Bowl City trophy.

Hudsonville players during pregame introductions. From left, Jonah Dennis, Brayden Szamrej, Breylan McPhaul and Jovan Daniels on on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).

One minute into the game, Daniels drained a 3-pointer for the first bucket of the game. It wasn’t technically the first field goal in the gym, since the girls teams played first. So that honor goes to Hudsonville’s Allyson Merrihew. 

“I was mostly thinking, at the beginning of the game, I have to start off aggressive and if (the first bucket) comes that’s great,” Daniels said.

Szamrej said it was going to be meaningful no matter who scored it.

“I mean, yeah, we were all probably thinking about who would get the first bucket,” he said. “The first points are always hype no matter who gets it. But it was good to see the first bucket go down.”

The senior had a rough start to the game. Just a minute and 30 seconds into the contest, he picked up his second foul and sat almost the entire first half. He finished with three points and four assists.

“It was definitely frustrating,” Szamrej said. “But to see my guys go out there and play hard was great to see.”

Hudsonville led 33-25 at halftime. 

Colin Nieuwenhuis led Unity Christian with 22 points and Jack Kamminga had 10. 

For more Hudsonville photos, click here. For more Unity Christian photos, click here.

A packed house of at least 4,000 fans showed up for the first game in the history of the new Hudsonville fieldhouse. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).