MUSKEGON — It took a half for Reeths-Puffer to get its offense going Tuesday night against Zeeland East, but once it did, the results were impressive.
The Rockets took command of Tuesday’s O-K Green Conference matchup after halftime, scoring 38 second-half points to pull away and earn a 67-47 win, keeping them undefeated in league play.
Zeeland East took an early 8-2 lead on a pair of three-pointers, but the Rockets (11-1, 5-0 O-K Green) surged back with a 7-0 run. The teams battled back and forth in the first half before R-P scored the last six points of the second quarter to take a 29-23 halftime lead.
R-P coach Nate Aardema said the Rockets were hunting mismatches early on offense and would have been better off playing a freer style.
“Although it makes sense sometimes, you’re trying to run stuff instead of play and you’re not in your training and your instincts,” Aardema said. “When you’re thinking, ‘Oh, should I be here?’, that little hesitancy hurts, and then they may throw a weak pass or the ball didn’t move because we were trying to hunt for something specific.”
That was not an issue after halftime, as R-P used its typically strong defensive effort to spark opportunities in transition. As usual, seniors Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose were the main drivers - and beneficiaries - of the increased success. Whitaker had 19 points and seven assists, and Ambrose posted a double-double, with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Marvin Moore drilled a three-pointer on a fast break to force a Zeeland East timeout, which did nothing to stop the Rockets’ momentum.
“That’s definitely our strong suit,” Whitaker said of moving faster. “We get the ball up to open shooters, or we can get it down low. Once we go early, everything just opens up open shots, and it shows. We’ve been scoring a lot.”
Aardema noted that Zeeland East played a game Monday night as well, making it an even more sensible choice to turn up the pace Tuesday. However, the Rockets also were playing with a tight rotation - only six players took the court in the first half - so the team picked its spots.
Still, the coach was impressed with his team’s hustle all game long, even when the Rockets had the game in hand.
“They’re just bought into trying to compete and win every possession,” Aardema said. “I don’t know if it was early in the fourth or late in the third, I think we were up 20-plus, and Jaxson dives on the ground for a loose ball. Last game, we were up fairly big and Travis chased down a loose ball from 30 feet away.”
The Rockets’ next two games will go a long way towards determining their conference title chances. R-P faces Zeeland West, whose only O-K Green loss was to Muskegon, Friday night, then take on the Big Reds Tuesday night.
