Whitehall’s Devontae Vance (left) drives around Hart’s Brandon Amstutz during Friday night’s WMC basketball game. Whitehall won 64-33.

Coach Nate Aardema did a mass substitution halfway through the first quarter, with his team already up twelve. It worked so well that he did it again the second and third quarters, as the Vikings cruised to a 64-33 West Michigan Conference win over Hart.

“This is a night where I thought we could get a lot of guys a lot of minutes,” Aardema said. “We shuffled our starting lineup a little. It worked out to where we got quite a few guys playing well right now.”

Indeed, nine Vikings scored as Whitehall romped.

Whitehall (5-8, 5-4 WMC) nabbed control early on, scoring seven points before Hart could even get the ball past halfcourt. The Vikings’ press continued to pay dividends throughout the night.

“I think if you speed kids up to where they get uncomfortable, you can gain an advantage,” Aardema said.

Isaac Love led the Vikings with 18 points. Matt Russell added 10 and Dylan Medendorp scored nine for the Vikings.

Hart got 13 points each from James Freeman and Brandon Amstutz, but a 26-9 deficit after a quarter was a taller hill than the Pirates could climb.

HART (33) Freeman 5 2-6 13, Colon 2 1-2 6, Amstutz 5 2-3 13, Redding 0 1-1 1. Totals 12 6-12 33.

WHITEHALL (64) DeCouto 1 1-2 3, Vance 2 0-0 5, Flowers 1 0-0 3, Medendorp 4 1-2 9, Rohen 2 2-2 7, Russell 4 2-2 10, Love 6 6-6 18, Sims 3 0-0 7, VanLoon 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 12-14 64.

Hart........ 9 11 9 4 — 33

Whitehall...26 19 14 5 — 64

Three-point goals — Freeman 1, Colon 1, Amstutz 1, Vance 1, Flowers 1, Rohen 1, Sims 1. Total fouls — Hart 13, Whitehall 14. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none. JV score: Whitehall 53, Hart 22.

Muskegon defeats

Rockets 71-48

MUSKEGON — The Reeths-Puffer Rockets couldn’t handle Muskegon Friday night as the Big Reds dominated R-P, 71-48, in an O-K Black showdown.

Kevin Polk had a big night for the Rockets (5-7, 2-3) in a losing effort, hitting six treys on his way to a game-best 23 points. Quinzell Pannell added 10 points and had eight rebounds.

Two Big Reds had double-digit boards, though, as Muskegon outrebounded R-P 48-19. Deshaun Thrower led Muskegon with 12 points, and Joeviair Kennedy had 11. Deyonta Davis had 15 boards and eight blocked shots.

Montague clobbers

Hart 68-23

HART — The Montague Wildcats clearly didn’t look past the Hart Pirates Thursday night.

Montague took immediate control of the game and never allowed Hart to get close in a 68-23 West Michgan Conference win.

The Wildcats (11-1, 8-1 WMC) led 45-16 at halftime, and didn’t let the Pirates post a double-digit scoring quarter en route to the win.

Montague spread the wealth early and often, putting 11 players into the score book. Chase Casebolt led the way and was the Wildcats’ lone scorer in double digits. He had 18 points, and also notched 15 rebounds for a double-double.

Jacob Marsh had nine points for the ‘Cats, and three others — James Boerema, Luke VanBoxel and Brandon Moore — had eight points each. Boerema had 11 rebounds as well. In all, the Wildcats dominated on the boards, with 53 total rebounds, 28 of them on the offensive glass.

Moore had five of the Wildcats’ 12 steals.

Vikes lose to

Muskegon Catholic

MUSKEGON — Whitehall struggled to gain its footing early on, and the Muskegon Catholic Central Crusaders took advantage Tuesday night.

Catholic outscored Whitehall by 11 in the first half, creating a cushion big enough to enable the Crusaders to cruise to a 63-48 win over the Vikings.

The Vikings received a well-balanced scoring effort led by Matt Russell’s 10 points, but didn’t have the firepower to overcome Muskegon Catholic.

Isaac Love and Dylan Medendorp each scored nine points and Jevontae Sims added eight for Whitehall.

Cari Campbell led all scorers with 21 points for the Crusaders.

WHITEHALL (48) Vance 2 2-4 6, Flowers 1 0-0 3, Medendorp 3 2-2 9, Rohen 0 1-2 1, Russell 5 0-2 10, Love 1 7-8 9, Sims 4 0-0 8, VanLoon 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 12-18 48.

MUSKEGON CATHOLIC (63) Tyler 0 1-2 1, Anderson 1 3-4 5, Campbell 9 2-3 21, Callow 2 2-2 6, Hall 0 2-3 2, Daniel 5 1-3 13, McCollum 5 2-2 12, VanFossen 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 13-19 63.

Whitehall........ 8 7 15 18 — 48

Muskegon Cath....16 10 19 18 — 63

Three-point goals — Flowers 1, Medendorp 1, Campbell 1, Daniel 2, VanFossen 1. Total fouls — Whitehall 17, Muskegon Catholic 15. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.

R-P rolls by Kenowa Hills

MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer notched its second straight O-K Black Conference win in lopsided fashion Tuesday night, defeating Kenowa Hills 64-41 at home.

The Rockets raced out to a 37-18 halftime lead, playing great defense for three quarters. The Knights scored 19 points in the final frame, but R-P had the victory assured by that point.

Three Rockets scored in double figures Tuesday night, led by Quinzell Pannell, who had 13 points. Marquese Livers scored 12 and Jalen Benton added 11. Benton also led the Rockets on the boards with seven rebounds. Andrew Reinecke notched nine points for Reeths-Puffer.

Rockets edge rival

Mona Shores

MUSKEGON — The Reeths-Puffer Rockets played a good defensive game last Friday night, riding a solid effort to a 54-46 win over rival Mona Shores.

R-P moved to 4-6 overall and 1-2 in the O-K Black Conference with the victory.

The Rockets faced seven-footer Adam Rayner and held their own despite a vast size disadvantage. Rayner scored just six points and none in the second half.

“We did a great job of controlling the paint,” Rockets’ coach David Ingles said.

R-P led most of the game, outscoring Shores 20-17 in the final quarter to preserve the victory.

Marquese Livers posted a double-double, with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Andrew Reinecke added 15 points, of which nine came on three-pointers.

Ingles was most impressed with his team defense. The Rockets stole 12 passes, led by four from Jalen Benton.