WHITEHALL — On paper, at least, Oakridge was the top remaining opponent for Whitehall in the first leg of the West Michigan Conference Lakes' double round-robin schedule after defeating Ludington. However, after a slow first few minutes last Thursday night, Whitehall made the Eagles look as overmatched as most of its opponents have this season.
The Vikings dialed up their intensity even higher than usual in the second and third quarters, turning a close game into a runaway and delivering some highlight-reel plays along the way in a 91-54 blowout.
Whitehall made much of the second half its showcase, delivering not one but two alley-oop dunks to star Camden Thompson before Trannon Aylor capped it off with his first career in-game dunk.
"It feels great," Thompson said of the high-flying slams, which came off assists from Ca'Mar Ready and Brock Morningstar. "My teammates trust me and we're getting that chemistry built up. Just banging one out here at home, it feels great with the crowd and everyone supporting me."
Coach Christian Subdon was as impressed as anyone, but enjoyed just as much how his starters supported the reserves when they got in the game late. Corde Anderson, who erupted for over 20 points in Whitehall's JV win over the Eagles, delivered an and-one basket and a three-pointer to get the bench and crowd on their feet in the fourth quarter.
"That's the special part to me, because you could be a starter and sit down on the bench and go, 'My work's done.' It's not," Subdon said. "You've got to be a great teammate, and they were. The ref was telling us to sit down. I was like, 'No chance. We're not sitting down.' It was cool."
The Eagles grabbed an early lead with a trio of first-quarter three-pointers, and it took Whitehall until late in the quarter to take its first lead. Kal Koehler hit a trey in the final seconds to help push Whitehall to a six-point lead, and Thompson dominated the second quarter from there as the Vikings piled up the points.
The junior star, who was honored pregame for his 1,000th career point - it was the team's first home game since that Dec. 27 accomplishment - wound up with 27 points and 14 rebounds despite barely playing in the fourth quarter.
"We're getting better as a team, day in and day out," Thompson said. "You're going to see us getting better even more throughout the year."
The fast pace Whitehall has become known for over the years was evident, and it was that pace that pushed the Vikings into gear after taking a few minutes to settle into the game. It's most noticed on offense, but Whitehall's defense recorded 13 steals to kick-start many fast breaks.
"As soon as the ball starts moving from here to there, we're better," Subdon said. "We're not very good at the iso-ball stuff, even though we have guys who can score. As soon as the ball starts to really move from end to end within a couple seconds, we're pretty dangerous."
Adding to the impressiveness of the win was that the Vikings shrugged off any hint of a potential hangover from the thrilling win over Ludington six days prior. On top of that, the victory also gave Whitehall wins - decisive ones at that - over everyone else in its district.
You won't hear any of the Vikings declaring their mission accomplished, though. In fact, several players made their way to the weight room after the game to get some more work in. The mentality is clear.
"It's great being 10-0, but that means nothing at the end of the season," Subdon said. "I want to be successful at the end of the year, so we have to continue to work, continue to get better."
