Montague’s Luke VanBoxel (right) is fouled driving to the basket by Sam Powell of North Muskegon. The Norsemen’s Wil Byl (12) looks on. VanBoxel had 11 points as the Wildcats overpowered the Norsemen, 59-39, in the teams’ WMC opener.
MONTAGUE — In what is sure to become a theme this season against West Michigan Conference opposition, the Montague Wildcats simply wore down their competitors.
Nine players got in the scorebook for Montague, led by Luke VanBoxel’s 11 points, and the Wildcats pulled away in the second half, defeating North Muskegon 59-39 to move to 2-0 on the season.
Whitehall blisters Hart to open WMC
HART — The Whitehall Vikings rebounded from a tough opening loss and rode their defense to an impressive 57-23 win over Hart in West Michigan Conference play Thursday night, evening their record at 1-1.
Whitehall held the Pirates below 10 points in each quarter of the contest, even shutting Hart out in the third quarter. The Vikings forced 25 turnovers and were plenty impressive enough on offense to secure the victory.
“It was good to bounce back after a rough game on Tuesday,” Whitehall coach Nate Aardema said.
The Vikings boasted a balanced offensive attack in the win, with eight players scoring at least five points. Matt Rohen led the way, scoring 11 points for Whitehall, all in the first half. Isaac Love added nine. Nick DeCouto, Michael Flowers and Dylan Medendorp each contributed six.
Frank Owens grabbed seven rebounds and four steals to go with his five points, while Rohen’s four assists led the team.
Whitehall shot only 50 percent from the free-throw line, but the Vikings controlled the game throughout.
James Freeman led Hart with five points, while Torian Williams, Brandon Amstutz and Jordan Redding each scored four.
The Vikes continue WMC play Tuesday against Oakridge.
Turnovers doom
Vikings in opener
WHITEHALL – The Vikings’ varsity inexperience was sorely evident Tuesday night in a 71-51 season-opening loss to visiting Mona Shores.
Five of the first six trips down the floor, Whitehall turned the ball over against the Sailors’ full-court press, and they totaled 18 miscues in the first half. The Vikings hung in the second half, but still turned the ball over another 11 times as the visitors has already rotated in the entire bench.
Montague rolls by Manistee
MANISTEE — The Montague Wildcats opened up their season in grand fashion Tuesday evening, blowing out Manistee on the road by a 74-33 margin.
Rockets win opener over Greenville
MUSKEGON — Reeths-Puffer’s new coach, Dave Ingles, got off to a fine start at his new job Tuesday night when the Rockets defeated Greenville 71-64 in a nonconference home game.
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