MUSKEGON TWP. - The Reeths-Puffer boys basketball team suffered another disappointing loss on Tuesday, but the night still managed to have an encouraging feel to it.
One reason was that the Rockets still showed a lot of fight, despite the mental challenge of losing 10 straight games. They battled to the end against rival Mona Shores and came up just short, falling to the Sailors 53-45 at R-P’s Dan Beckeman Arena.
“They continue to play hard and continued to learn the lessons,” said R-P head coach JR Wallace. “We will watch the film from this game, dissect it, get better from it and get ready for Byron Center.”
The other encouraging part came after the game, when Wallace announced that the five promising sophomores who represent the future of R-P basketball - and have been splitting time between the varsity and junior varsity - are now on the varsity full-time.
R-P's Artis Williams takes a shot. Photo/Nick Fuller
That means next season, and the season after that, really started on Tuesday night, because the team will improve as the sophomore develop, and there’s nowhere for them to go but up.
There are no juniors on the roster.
“We are done with the hybrid project, and now we can move everybody up,” Wallace said. “Now we can practice all together and gel more as a team.”
The Rockets will certainly be able to use more help from the younger guys, because the first half of their season has been tough.
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They came into Tuesday’s game in the midst of painful losing streak. After winning their first game of the season, they lost the next 10, including a very difficult one-sided loss to powerful Muskegon last Tuesday.
Some teams might toss in the towel after such a rough stretch, but the Rockets took the floor against the Sailors and made it clear they are not done fighting.
R-P's Zayden Schneider. Photo/Nick Fuller
Sophomore Rodney Walker scored seven points in the first quarter, including a three-pointer, and Reeths-Puffer led 14-12 heading into the second.
The Rockets got a pair of triples in the second quarter, from sophomore Hank Mitchelson and senior Zayden Schneider, but were outscored 13-10 and trailed 25-24 at halftime.
The two teams played to a 12-12 deadlock in the third quarter and the Sailors led 37-36 heading in the fourth. Schneider hit another three-pointer in the third, and the Rockets made five of eight free throws.
The difference came in the fourth quarter, when Mona Shores outscored the Rockets 16-9 to sew up the victory. Seven of those Sailor points came from the free-throw line.
Coach JR Wallace instructs the team during a time out. Photo/Nick Fuller
R-P sophomore Artis Williams hit a short jumper with about four minutes left that put the Rockets up 45-44, but Mona Shores went on a 9-0 run the rest of the way.
Ryan Opsommer led the way for the Sailors in the fourth, pouring in nine points, including four from the line.
Overall Mona Shores had a 21-10 advantage in free throws.
Marvin Moore, the Rockets’ top scorer, had a pretty quiet night, but still led the team with 13 points.
Walker totaled eight points before fouling out in the fourth quarter. Schneider finished with six points.
Now the Rockets will transition to a roster of full-time varsity players, starting on Friday night when they travel to Byron Center for another O-K Green conference game.
RF-P's Marvin Moore. Photo/Nick Fuller
The five sophomores have actually seen a lot of court time with the varsity all season, under the fifth-quarter rule, but still spent most of their time with the JV.
Wallace has said all season that they have a great deal of potential and could form the nucleus of a very good team, but he was determined to bring them along slowly.
Now he thinks they’ve had enough prep time and are ready to take the plunge.
Three sophomores – Walker, Williams and Hank Mitchelson – were in the startling lineup against Mona Shores, and all three scored points. Joining them on the varsity will be their fellow tenth-graders Jamichael Williams and Chris Shields.
“This was always the vision,” Wallace said. “We just finished exam week, we’re getting to the second half of the season, so we timed it up with that.
“Now we can get them to have a full 10 or 11 games of varsity basketball under their belts and get them up to standard. They are already good at watching film and they know what I look for, so the second half the season should be a lot more productive.”