WHITEHALL — If Whitehall coach Christian Subdon was nitpicking - and when you're a coach, you're always nitpicking - his biggest complaint with his undefeated Vikings to date was that it would often take a quarter or so for them to build up to the kind of quick-strike pace he likes to see.
That wasn't the case Tuesday night, as Whitehall took control early and rolled to an 80-31 West Michigan Conference Lakes win over Fremont.
Whitehall got out on the break immediately, feeding Ca'Mar Ready with an outlet pass after Fremont's first miss of the game for an easy bucket.
"We want to be known as a defensive team because that wins you games in March," Subdon said. "That's what I asked them to do and then they did that. I appreciate them doing what I'm asking them to do. That tells me that they're trying to grow as a team."
Whitehall attacked the basket in the first quarter, largely eschewing long-range attempts - though Camden Thompson did knock down a three-pointer in the quarter. Then, in the second frame, the Vikings switched tactics, delivering three treys and scoring 20 points in the first six minutes of the quarter. Eight different Whitehall players had scored by halftime as the Vikes built a 40-10 lead.
"They make me look like a good coach when they're shooting it like that and getting layups," Subdon said. "They can do it all. It's just continuing to keep that mental focus."
Whitehall kept up the strong effort throughout the game. Subdon was specifically impressed with the effort on what he now calls "100/0" balls, including one where Hunter Osborne hit the deck with the Vikes already up by a large margin.
Subdon said he calls what are usually known as 50/50 balls by the new moniker because he thinks his team can and should come up with all of them.
"If it's on the (floor) and we don't know (who has it), it's got to be ours," Subdon said. "It doesn't matter the score. I want people to leave the gym and say, 'Holy crap, those guys play hard.' I think people can do that tonight."
Thompson led the team with 19 points, eight rebounds and six steals in only 22 minutes of play. Ready had 12 points and Trannon Aylor chipped in 11. Subdon trumpeted the virtues of junior Kal Koehler, who had eight points and five boards and is probably the player whose numbers are most affected by being on the court with Thompson.
"If I leave Kal in that game, Kal gets 20 (points)," Subdon said. "He got every rebound there was to have. That's what we're asking him to do. I'm super proud of that guy. That kid does not get talked about enough.
"Everyone at the beginning of the year was like, 'Man, we've just got to stop Cam.' Yeah, you can do that. You can double-team him, but we've got other dudes that can really play the game of basketball and they're playing it at a high level."
