PENTWATER - In a battle of the top two teams in the West Michigan “D” League, the Baldwin Panthers jumped out to an early lead, and held off a second half rally by Pentwater to lay claim to the outright league title with a 57-45 win on Thursday evening.
The Panthers took an 11-point lead into the half, 28-17. They would expand that lead to 17 points in the third quarter, before the Falcons found their game, and closed the gap to just seven points heading into the fourth quarter.
D.J. Baldridge led the Panthers in scoring with 19 points, with Louie Jackson adding 17 for Baldwin. Kaleb Brown paced Pentwater with a 16-point effort, with Will Werkema-Grondsma chipping in with 10.
Baldwin (17-4, 16-1 WMDL) closed the regular season by winning 10 of their last 11 contests. The Panthers will take on the winner of Monday’s Manistee Catholic Central vs. Mason County Eastern game in the second round of district play at Marion on Wednesday night. Pentwater (16-6, 15-3 WMDL) is on the other side of the same district bracket. They will face off with host Marion on Monday evening.
