Story by Sam Bell, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Andris Visockis

There are many exciting plays in sports. From a walk-off home run to the two minute drill, there are moments in every sport in which you hold your breath. One of these plays happened to our very own Jake Bullock on December 3, when he hit a 40-foot desperation shot as time expired to defeat #2 Cornerstone University.

“The plan was to get Loren Johnson the ball and have him come up the sideline, but [Cornerstone] covered it up so Kail Venema came to get the ball,” Bullock said when asked about those final seconds. “I was one of the options, but I just made a basketball play and went and got the ball.”

This stellar play was featured on Sportscenter’s Top Ten Plays that night as the number 1 play, and has been the talk of the campus since it happened.

Along with Bullock the men were led by seniors Bryan Mitzner and Zac VanBeek. VanBeek led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Mitzner who chipped in 16 of his own.

Although Bullock was the one to make the game winning shot and has had an impressive season so far, he doesn’t want to take all the credit for the accomplishments he and the team have had this season.

“I gotta thank my teammates for my success so far. Without them, I don’t get open. I have the easy part, just shooting the ball and without them that can’t happen.”

Beating Cornerstone was huge for the Saints, improving their record to 8-4 overall and 5-0 in the WHAC. Although they have been doing very well on the court, the team knows they still have a lot of ball to play to win the conference.

“It always feels great to beat a good team on their floor,” Bullock started, “But that’s only one game and we have 18 left to go.”

Of those 18 games, 16 are within the WHAC, while the other two are contests against Great Lakes Christian College and Madonna. These will be tough games, but with teamwork the squad have the potential to win them all. That’s the goal, but they plan to take it one game at a time.

On December 6, the Saints traveled to Mount Pleasant to take on Central Michigan University. The team took a 90-51 loss against the Chippewas most recently lost a close match-up against Indiana Tech. These losses bring the Saints to an 8-5 record.

The next home game for our Saints is Wednesday, January 13 at 8 p.m.

About the writer…

Sam Bell is a sophomore from Mackinaw City. She played three sports in grade school, including basketball, volleyball, and softball. Outside of reporting on sports, Sam enjoys listening to music, hanging out with her friends, and with her cat, Oliver. She is a Psychology and Community Leadership major and is considering Sports Journalism.