MUSKEGON TWP. - The way Reeths-Puffer senior Elliot Schneider tells it, the key to his team's recent improvement has been the ability to adjust to Coach JR Wallace's practices.
In the past, the R-P boys basketball team had more low-key practices where they worked on developing plays, according to Schneider.
Under Wallace, who coached college basketball at Grand Valley State University before coming to R-P this season, practices are very high-intensity, with a whole lot of running, Schneider said.
The new workout regimen is obviously making a difference.
The latest evidence came on Friday night, when the Rockets opened O-K Green conference play with their best performance of the season, a 52-43 victory over Caledonia at Dan Beckeman Arena.
R-P's Marvin Moore (2), who scored 25 points. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The win was the second straight for the Rockets and improved their overall record to 2-4.'
They will aim for their third straight win on Saturday when they host a rare afternoon game against Traverse City West.
"At the start of the season guys were kind of tentative about changing to the more amped-up practices," said Schneider, who scored six big points in the fourth quarter on Friday. "Now that we're willing to change, and we're giving 100 percent in practice every day, we can really see an improvement."
After losing their first four games, the Rockets have looked like a new team over the past few weeks.
Their progress was actually evident in their last loss, on Dec. 17 to Traverse City Central, when they trailed 16-1 after the first quarter but battled back and only lost by eight points. 
R-P's Brayden Mitchelson drives in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
They finally got their first win on Dec. 20, keeping their composure in the closing minutes and pulling out a 50-49 victory over Sparta.
Friday's victory was far more decisive, and showed how the Rockets have gained the necessary confidence to take control of tight games.
They trailed 38-36 after three quarters, then outscored the Fighting Scots 16-5 in the fourth to steal the win.
R-P won despite having two starters foul out early in the fourth.
That's the type of play that Wallace has been looking for, and he was pleased with what he saw from his developing team.
R-P Coach JR Wallace talks strategy with Drew Brooks. Photo/Jeremy Clark
"The hope was that, when I took the job, the team would take on the characteristics of the coach, and I have a lot of swagger, so hopefully it's rubbing off," Wallace said with a smile.
"But seriously, the guys have been working hard and doing a good job. It helps to get some victories and see the stuff we've been working on come to fruition on the court."
Wallace was particularly proud of R-P's impressive defensive effort.
The Rockets hustled on defense all night, forcing Caledonia to work hard hard for its shots and miss quite a few of them.
Caledonia only made 3 of 10 from the floor in the second quarter, and only 2 of 8 in the crucial fourth quarter.
R-P's Elliot Schneider (23), who scored six big fourth-quarter points. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The R-P defense also forced the Fighting Scots into a lot of turnovers, including four in both the second and fourth quarters..
"When you get into conference play, and you hold a team to under 45 points, that's beautiful," Wallace said. "You can teach guys offense, but defense requires energy, effort and focus. You have to give a lot of yourself to be able to defend."
The R-P offense was driven by the hot hand of junior Marvin Moore, who scored a game-high 25 points, including 15 in the first half.
Moore scored 10 in the first quarter, which was important, because Caledonia came out hot and led 8-3 early, but the Rockets calmed down and only trailed 15-13 heading into the second.
R-P outscored Caledonia 10-6 in the second quarter and led 23-21 at halftime. Brayden Mitchelson led the Rockets with four points in the second, Moore added three and junior Zayden Schneider came off the bench to chip in a big three-pointer.
Moore takes flight on his way to the bucket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Fighting Scots recovered a bit in the back-and-forth third quarter and led 38-36 heading into the fourth.
R-P opened the third with a 6-2 run, with two buckets from Mitchelson and one from Moore, but Caledonia answered with a 9-0 run and outscored the Rockets 15-7 the rest of the way.
Moore's hot hand again came in handy for the Rockets in the third. He scored nine points, including seven in the final 3:42, to keep the visitors from pulling away.
The Rockets saved their best for the fourth quarter, when they proved they could take a close game and make it not-so-close at the end.
Elliot Schneider led things off with an offensive rebound and a layup 20 seconds into the quarter to tie the game at 38-38.
Brooks brings the ball up the court for the Rockets. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Moore added a layup with 6:17 remaining, giving R-P a 40-38 lead.
R-P's best run started with 4:32 remaining, when Moore missed the second of two free throws, Mitchelson got the offensive rebound, drew a foul and made one shot to put the Rockets up 42-40.
Schneider added another layup, with a nice assist from Mitchelson, to extend the lead to 44-40 with 3:29 left.
Mitchelson had a steal and layup with 3:03 remaining, putting R-P up 46-40, then nailed a jumper with 2:08 left to make it 48-40.
Schneider added a layup with 54 seconds remaining, making the score 50-41. Mitchelson capped off the win with a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left.
Mitchelson finished with 18 points.