Zeeland West falls in semifinals, ending historic run

EAST LANSING, Mich. (WOOD) — Friday was a day of firsts for the Zeeland West boys basketball team, which was a mirror of their entire season.

A district title, a regional title and a win in the Division 1 state quarterfinals on Tuesday sent them to the Breslin Center Friday for a shot at playing in the title game.

Unfortunately for the Dux and the community that followed them so closely, North Farmington handed them their first loss in the 2024 postseason.

The Raiders (24-2) pulled away in the second half and defeated Zeeland West (20-8) 58-39, ending a truly historic playoff run.

“(North Farmington) created chaos and they are really good at it,” Zeeland West head coach David Klyn said. “It’s a different defense than I’ve ever seen before because when you get down against them, you can’t really run plays or sets against it to come back. They’re going to be a tough out tomorrow.”

North Farmington will move on to play Orchard Lake St. Mary Saturday in the state final for Division 1.

The Dux could never get the offense working consistently against the pressure the Raiders had on the defensive end all game. That included Mr. Basketball finalist Merritt Alderink, who didn’t make his first shot from the field until the fourth quarter and ended with nine points, while adding seven rebounds and three assists.

“I think that was one of the most difficult defenses I’ve ever faced, and I’ve been playing basketball for a long time,” Alderink said. “You get a pass and think you’re open, and in a blink you are double teamed. It’s just hard to do anything against them.”

In the first quarter, the Dux looked like they were ready to play. After falling down early, they went on a 8-0 run to take a 1-point lead for their first advantage of the day.

However, after a couple triples from the Raiders on back-to-back possessions, North Farmington regained the lead and led 15-11 at the end of the first quarter.

The Dux would never see the lead again.

Zeeland West continued to play hard on the defensive end in the second quarter, but they were only able to muster 8 points on the offensive end. The Raiders led 27-19, holding the core of the Dux’s offense in Orion Yant and Alderink to just three points.

It was a quarter to forget in the third for Zeeland West as they were outscored 23-14, including a buzzer-beating triple from DJ Morgan that banked in. It extended the Raiders’ lead to 50-33, and they would ultimately run as much time off the clock as possible with their remaining possessions.

In defeat, no Dux player reached double figures. Alderink led with 9 points, Luke Bakker had 8 points and six rebounds and Myles Steffen had 7 points and two assists to lead the team. Yant, who made the game-winning shot against Muskegon in the quarterfinal, was held to just 4 points while adding six boards.

While the locker room was hard to approach following the loss, Klyn found joy in the sadness, because he almost wasn’t a part of this run at all.

“I almost quit coaching, not this past October but the October before,” Klyn said with his eyes watering. “Just because of all the pressure that comes with coaching. My wife wouldn’t let me, my athletic director wouldn’t let me and my pastor wouldn’t let me. I’m so glad I listened to them because I wouldn’t have been a part of this run and built these relationships with these guys and the others in our locker room. It’s truly been special.”

It certainly won’t be a season the Zeeland community will forget anytime soon. Six hundred “Breslin Bound” shirts were bought in just eight minutes for this game, according to Klyn, and the quarterfinal game against Muskegon didn’t have a seat open on the Zeeland side.

The run will live on, and it’s one this group of Dux knew it could make.

“I started playing basketball here in eighth grade, and even then we were told, ‘This is the group,’” Yant said. “If you wanted to form the Avengers, this would be the year to do that. And we did that while bringing history to our school.”

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