Whitehall’s Patrick Johnson (left) attempts to evade the defense of Reeths-Puffer’s Jaquan Pannell during a nonconference game Tuesday night. The Rockets beat Whitehall in OT, 67-57.

R-P (7-12) dominated the first quarter, taking a 26-12 lead after a frame and looked to be in control wih a 14-point halftime lead.

“We played good team ball in the first half,” R-P coach David Ingles said. “We played selfish in the second half.”

The Vikings (8-12) battled back into the game behind Isaac Love, who was held scoreless in the first half but ripped off 13 second-half points to bring Whitehall back. The Vikings outscored Reeths-Puffer 37-23 in the second half to get the game into overtime.

“Whitehall shot it well in the second half and extended the game,” Ingles said.

However, the Vikings were out of gas in the extra period, and the Rockets outscored them 12-2 to earn the win.

Marquese Livers led the way for Reeths-Puffer with 18 points and seven rebounds. Andrew Reinecke was potent from the outside, knocking down three three-pointers on his way to 14 points. DeDe Blake added nine points and Jaquan Pannell scored eight.

Love paced Whitehall with 15 points, while Matt Russell scored 14 points and grabbed eight boards. Dylan Medendorp had nine points and seven rebounds, and Devontae Vance scored eight points.

“Poor energy in the first half cost us a win,” Whitehall coach Nate Aardema said. “On to the postseason.”

The Vikings open district play Wednesday against Oakridge, who Whitehall split two games with in the regular season. Tip-off is set for approximately 8 p.m. at Orchard View.

REETHS-PUFFER (67) Blake 2 3-4 9, Livers 7 4-6 18, Polk 2 0-0 5, Q. Pannell 3 0-1 6, Reinecke 3 5-6 14, Gilmore 1 1-2 3, Oaks-Owens 2 0-2 4, J. Pannell 3 1-4 8. Totals 23 14-25 67.

WHITEHALL (57) DeCouto 2 1-3 5, Vance 4 0-1 8, Johnson 0 0-1 0, Medendorp 3 2-2 9, Owens 1 0-0 2, Russell 4 6-10 14, Love 5 2-2 15, Sims 2 0-0 4. Totals 21 11-19 57.

Reeths-Puffer.....26 6 13 10 12 — 67

Whitehall.........12 6 19 18 2 — 57

Three-point goals — Blake 2, Polk 1, Reinecke 3, J. Pannell 1, Medendorp 1, Love 3. Total fouls — Reeths-Puffer 18, Whitehall 18. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.

‘Cats roll past

Kent City

KENT CITY — Montague dominated early and often Thursday night, ending the regular season by blasting Kent City in a nonconference showdown, 86-45.

The ‘Cats (17-2) led 45-29 at the break and buried the Eagles with a 23-6 scoring spurt in the third quarter.

11 different Wildcats scored as Montague showcased its depth heading into the district tournament. Brandon Moore led the way, with 22 points and eight rebounds.

Chase Casebolt aded 14 points and seven boards, and Luke VanBoxel scored 12 points with four assists without turning the ball over.

“Luke played an all-around great game tonight,” Montague coach David Osborne said. “He was aggressive both offensively and defensively.”

Jacob Marsh and Kalup Bentz also had four assists each, as once again Montague was unselfish and effective. On 33 made baskets, Montague recorded assists for 24 of them.

Will Wilson led the Eagles with 12 points.

The Wildcats drew Shelby in the semifinals of the district tournament at Holton this week. The semifinal game, which will be the third meeting between the teams after they split two exciting contests in the regular season, will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Rockets edge

Holland, 51-48

MUSKEGON — The Reeths-Puffer Rockets closed out their regular season Thursday night with a nail-biting 51-48 nonconference win over Holland.

R-P ended the regular season with an 8-12 record.

The Rockets were led by a two-proned attack from Marquese Livers and Quinzell Pannell. Livers had 13 points, five assists and three steals, while Pannell barely missed a double-double, with 11 points and nine rebounds. Kevin Polk scored eight points.

The game remained close throughout the second half, after the Rockets erased a 25-20 halftime deficit to tie the game through three quarters. R-P had just enough to hold off the Dutch late.

Dante Hawkins paced Holland with 15 points, and Josh Zietz-Mejia scored 12.

Vikes lose at Fremont

FREMONT — Whitehall dropped a nonconference game Monday evening, as the Fremont Packers were too much in a 61-47 loss.

Fremont broke open an eight-point halftime lead by outscoring the Vikes 21-11 in the third quarter, all but locking the game up early.

Isaac Love scored 11 points and Matt Russell had 10 for Whitehall, but the Vikings (8-11) had trouble stopping Fremont on the defensive end of the court.

Dylan Krim paced the Packers wth 22 points, while Mike Siegel added 16 and Jacb Kaastra chipped in 14. The Packers made 10 three-pointers in the game, seven by Krim and Kaastra. Fremont also attempted 16 free throws to five for the Vikings.

Devontae Vance scored seven points and Dylan Medendorp had six for Whitehall.

WHITEHALL (47) DeCouto 1 0-0 2, Vance 3 1-1 7, Johnson 2 1-2 5, Medendorp 3 0-0 6, Owens 1 0-0 2, Rohen 2 0-0 4, Russell 4 2-2 10, Love 5 0-0 11. Totals 21 4-5 47.

FREMONT (61) Kaastra 5 0-0 14, MacLean 2 0-2 5, Siegel 5 4-8 16, Siersema 2 0-0 4, Krim 7 5-6 22. Totals 21 9-16 61.

Whitehall....14 9 11 13 — 47

Fremont......19 12 21 9 — 61

Three-point goals — Love 1, Kaastra 4, MacLean 1, Siegel 2, Krim 3. Total fouls — Whitehall 14, Fremont 8. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — none.

Montague holds off

Muskegon Catholic

MONTAGUE — The Wildcats had to battle to take their final home game Tuesday evening against a game Muskegon Catholic team.

Montague had enough in the tank to hold off the Crusaders, though, taking a 69-61 win.

The Wildcats led by just three going into the final quarter, 49-46.

Chase Casebolt had a huge night for Montague in his final home contest, piling up 25 points and seven rebounds. Casebolt was 10 of 14 from the field.

Luke VanBoxel had 15 points and dished out four assists, tied with Kalup Bentz for the team lead. Brandon Moore had 12 points and 10 boards for a double-double.

The Crusaders had four double-figure scorers, led by Cari Campbell, with 13 points and eight rebounds. Brant McCollum added 12 points.

Wildcats rip Fruitport

FRUITPORT — Montague bounced back in style from last week’s loss at Whitehall, exploding for a huge third quarter on the way to a 62-32 win at Fruitport last Saturday.

The Wildcats (16-2) were tied with Fruitport at 21 at the break, but ripped off a 28-2 third quarter to take control of the contest.

Chase Casebolt led the charge for Montague, pouring in 17 points, including three treys. Brandon Stine and Luke VanBoxel each scored 10 points for the Wildcats, and Brandon Moore added eight, with six rebounds.

VanBoxel’s five assists paced Montague, which recorded an assist on 15 of its 22 field goals, showing great unselfishness. Nine different Wildcats had an assist.

James Boerema blocked four shots for Montague and Casebolt rejected two.

Amilio Flores led the Trojans with 11 points.

MONTAGUE (62) Morse 1 1-2 3, C. Lohman 1 0-1 2, R. Lohman 1 0-0 2, Moore 3 2-2 8, Stine 4 1-3 10, VanBoxel 3 4-6 10, Marsh 1 0-0 2, Casebolt 5 4-4 17, Boerema 2 0-0 4, Buchberger 1 1-2 4. Totals 22 13-20 62.

FRUITPORT (32) Fehler 1 2-5 4, Veihl 2 2-2 6, Cutler 0 0-1 0, Flores 5 0-0 11, Grimm 1 0-1 2, Brown 2 0-0 6, Horacek 1 0-0 2, Umstead 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 5-11 32.

Montague.....6 15 28 13 — 62

Fruitport....4 17 2 9 — 32