GRAND RAPIDS – Forest Hills Northern’s Joe Soules described himself as a ‘very cerebral, kind of Zen like’ coach.
But during Saturday night’s 62-54 victory over rival Forest Hills Central in the Division 1 district championship game, Soules decided to bag the Zen.
The Huskies, trailing by three after three quarters at Northview, went on a 19-2 fourth-quarter run to beat the rival Rangers for the third time this season. The Huskies, 14-1 overall, will next play Grand Haven in Tuesday’s 7 p.m. regional semifinal game against Grand Haven.
“We had a very spirited discussion as a unit between the third and fourth quarters that kind of lit a fire,” Soules said. “My tendency the last couple of years as a coach and really my whole life is very cerebral, kind of Zen and let these guys do their things but with a lot of passion on the sidelines. This is a veteran team, and they don’t need me yelling and screaming and getting into them.
“But between the third and fourth quarter, I had to kind of light the fire myself, and it was probably the right time to do it the first time all year.”
FHN senior Gavin Fisher’s fire arguably burned the brightest. Fisher finished with 12 points, and 10 of those came in the third quarter, including a pair of clutch 3-pointers. The Huskies were down 45-42 when Fischer buried his first 3 with seven minutes remaining in regulation, and moments later, he drained his second to put FHN up 48-45. The Huskies would go on to outscore the Rangers 22-11 in the fourth.
Fisher played for Fruitport a year ago before transferring to the Huskies. It wasn’t the first time he has come up big against FHC.
“Fish has been unique for us all year,” Soules said. “He is a great kid, a great student, and he fits the basketball profile. He’s 6-4, long and a little bouncy, and he has had great moments throughout the season. This is the second time in a FHC-FHN game that he has come up huge in the fourth quarter.”
Fisher also picked up his fourth foul in the fourth, but it didn’t slow him down.
“My teammates supported me all the way and kept telling me to shoot the ball when I got it,” Fisher said. “I just love my teammates so much. Trinidad (Chambliss) and Ethan (Erickson) and everybody, and the school is so welcoming. I am blessed to be here.”
Erickson added 19 points and Chambliss 16 for the Huskies, who held back the upset-minded Rangers. FHC already knocked off OK Red Conference champion Rockford in Tuesday’s district quarterfinal, then beat Northview for the third time this season on Thursday.
FHC coach Kyle Carhart said he was pleased with his team’s effort Saturday.
“Our seniors and our guys who have been in our program a little while understand the effort and the attitude that we want them to play with, and that’s what this team really embraced,” Carhart said. “I think it was great to have it showcased this week, but really, from the second week of the season when we were playing games, is when we took off.
“That was the attitude that they had all year. As coaches, we are unbelievably proud of them because it was something we didn’t have to coach all that often.”
Connor Milton led the Rangers with 15 points, while Dallas Hopson 14. Hopson scored 10 of his points in the second quarter, helping the Rangers open a 30-27 halftime lead.
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The Link LonkMarch 28, 2021 at 09:37AM
https://www.mlive.com/highschoolsports/2021/03/forget-the-zen-forest-hills-northern-responds-to-coachs-fiery-speech-in-win-over-fhc.html
Forget the Zen: Forest Hills Northern responds to coach’s fiery speech in win over FHC - MLive.com
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