MUSKEGON TWP. - Hank Mitchelson and his Reeths-Puffer teammates definitely saw enough of the powerful Muskegon Big Reds on Tuesday night.
But Mitchelson and the other sophomores on the team know they will be seeing a lot more of the Big Reds over the next few years, and now they understand the challenge ahead as they try to narrow the gap.
The Rockets gave it their best shot, but still came out on the short end of an 84-36 final score against Muskegon in O-K Green conference action at Dan Beckeman Arena.
R-P's Hank Mitchelson tries to dribble past a defender. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The Big Reds, ranked third in the state in Division 1, improved to 7-0 on the season. Reeths-Puffer fell to 1-10. It was the conference opener for both teams.
The Rockets will travel to Caledonia for another conference game on Friday night.
For Mitchelson, who has been a starter all season, there was a bit of a silver lining in the loss. He scored 10 points, which tied for the team lead. After missing a lot of shots earlier in the season as he settled into the lineup, he’s been starting to produce some points, even against Mighty Muskegon.
He knows he and his fellow sophomores will have to produce a lot more down the road as they try to restore the intensity to the R-P-Big Red rivalry.
R-P's Marvin Moore drives toward the basket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
There are no juniors on the R-P roster - only six seniors, five sophomores and one freshman - so the tenth-graders are going to be running the show for the next two years.
“I would say it was our first taste, obviously it did not end up how we wanted it to go, but we will take it and learn from it,” Mitchelson said. “We have something to go on now, after getting to see it and putting our feet in the water, basically.
“I think my class has a long way to go, and I think it’s all just a learning process. Everybody is going to take this and try to get better from it.”
The game was competitive for part of the first half.
R-P's Jacmicheal Williams puts up a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Muskegon led 18-9 after one quarter, then the Rockets had a 6-0 spurt early in the second to make the score 20-15. Sophomore Artis Williams hit a jumper to start the run, then Marvin Moore added a driving layup and a pair of free throws.
Sophomore Rodney Walker added a layup about a minute and a half later, making the score 23-17.
The Big Reds took control after that, however, and took a 51-25 lead into halftime.
Moore looks for a pass under double coverage. Photo/Jeremy Clark
The third quarter was particularly painful, with R-P failing to score a point. Muskegon led 75-25 headed into the fourth.
The Big Reds piled up a lot of points with free throws, because the Rockets fouled a lot as they tried to contend with Muskegon’s explosive speed. The visitors scored 21 points from the line, including 18 in the first half.
James Martin led Muskegon with 38 points, including 14 from the line.
Mitchelson and Marvin Moore each scored 10 points for R-P while Williams added seven.
The loss was the 10th in a row for the Rockets, who have not tasted victory since the season opener.
R-P head coach JR Wallace was asked if the painful loss, on top of the losing streak, would be mentally tough for his team to process, and he rejected that idea.
“These kids are resilient,” the coach said. “Muskegon is a completely different team than who we have next. Every game is its own game. We talk about that all the time, how we need to hit resets. Tomorrow we will stretch, watch the film of this game, drink all the hurt and then put it away.”