LocalSportsJournal.com
GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Rapids Catholic Central turned back Whitehall, 95-63, in a boys basketball MHSAA Division 3 regional title game at Grand Rapids on Wednesday night to snap the Vikings’ seven-game winning streak.
The Vikings got off to a bad start, falling into a 17-point deficit, 27-10 at the end of the first quarter. Whitehall could never dig out of the hole.
Catholic Central outscored the Vikings, 30-21 in a wild second quarter which left Whitehall trailing, 57-31 at the half.
Whitehall was outscored, 19-14 in the third quarter and headed into the fourth period looking up at a 76-45 deficit. Catholic had a 19-18 edge in the final eight minutes.
The Vikings shot 20 of 51 from the field for 39 percent, compared to Catholic Central’s 45 percent. Grand Rapids made 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc to seven for the Vikings.
Whitehall had a better night at the free throw line, sinking 16 of 21 attempts for 76 percent while Catholic drained 7 of 16 for 43 percent.
The Vikings were outrebounded, 41-34, including 21-10 in offensive rebounds. Another key stat found the Vikings committing 20 turnovers to just seven for Grand Rapids, which scored 20 points off those turnovers. The Vikings scored six points off turnovers.
Camden Thompson scored 22 points and hauled down 15 rebounds to lead Whitehall. He also had two blocked shots. Red Watson added 11 points while Kyle Stratton scored eight and had two steals.
The Vikings ended the season with an 18-6 record.
