MUSKEGON TWP. — Reeths-Puffer’s impressive 12-game winning streak came to a crashing halt in a highly anticipated rematch with Muskegon on Friday night.
The Big Reds wasted little time jumping out to a big advantage and led the whole game in a 48-28 win over the Rockets on R-P's home court. It was the second matchup between the schools in 11 days.
R-P won the first game 63-45 on Jan. 30.
Photo/Joe Lane
“They played hard, they competed - you’re not going to have it rolling every single night,” said R-P Coach Nate Aardema about his players. “Sometimes the other team just plays better. That was the case tonight.
“I’m proud of them tonight, I’m proud of them always. That doesn’t change.”
Aardema credited the Muskegon defense for making things tough all night. The Rockets managed just five field goals in the game, with more than half of their points coming at the foul line.
“I thought they had a great game plan, they defended us really well,” the coach said, “We got a little stagnant. I thought that we didn’t move as much as we would like. They really guarded us well tonight.”
Photo/Joe Lane
Muskegon, which came in ranked No. 8 in the state in Division 1, improved to 13-2 on the season. Reeths-Puffer, ranked No. 9, fell to 15-2. Both schools are 9-1 in the O-K Green conference, tied atop the standings with four games to play.
“We’re not going to make excuses, we’re going to continue to work to get better,” Aardema said of moving on from Friday’s game.
With both schools in the same district in the state tournament, a third meeting could be on the horizon. Mona Shores, Cedar Springs and Greenville are also in the district, which will be played at Mona Shores.
“We know our district, we know they’re in there,” Aardema said. “We’ll be the top two seeds and figure it out from there.”
Photo/Joe Lane
Muskegon led 18-5 after one quarter, powered by four three-pointers, including one by Justin Watson in the final seconds. The Big Reds ended the frame on a 13-2 run.
An 11-10 edge for Muskegon in the second quarter put the Big Reds’ lead at 29-15 heading to the half. Brayden Mitchelson led the Rockets with five first half points, followed by Travis Ambrose with four.
Reeths-Puffer started the second half with a quick 5-0 run, all courtesy of Mitchelson, to pull within single-digits at 29-20. But Muskegon answered with a 6-0 spurt of its own to dash any comeback hopes. Muskegon led 36-24 after three quarters.
Mitchelson led Reeths-Puffer with 10 points followed by Jaxson Whitaker with seven. Ambrose scored five points, all on free throws, and grabbed nine rebounds.
