LocalSportsJournal.com
LUDINGTON — Exploding out of the gates for 30 points in the first quarter propelled the Ludington boys basketball team to a big 82-46 non-conference victory over Montague at home Tuesday night.
While the offense was on fire to start the game, Ludington’s defense was just as effective and limited the Wildcats to just 8 points.
“Really played well on the offensive end, really shared the ball, got great looks at the basket and were able to kind of make the game the speed that we wanted it,” said Ludington head coach Thad Shank.
“I think we got a lot of our offense from our defense tonight. Not only did we force pace, we got a lot of turnovers and were able to get out in transition and get some easy buckets, which is what we want to do.”
The Wildcats scored evenly with the Orioles in the second quarter as each team scored 11 points, and Ludington built a 41-19 halftime lead.
Ludington then outscored the Wildcats, 16-13 in the third period and carried a comfortable 58-32 advantage and finished the Wildcats off with a 25-14 fourth period run.
David Shillinger scored a game-high 25 points to lead the Orioles and Matthew Westhouse contributed 16. Gage Jones was one point shy of hitting for double figures with 9.
Braeden Johnston led the Wildcats with 9 points and Rodney Brassfield added 8.
Kade Johnson and Brassfield had 6 rebounds each and Isaiah Atchison had 5 boards. Owen Raeth had 3 steals, with Johnson and Johnston picking off 2 apiece.
Carri Williams, Owen Peterson and Paul Olson each had 2 assists.
The Orioles remained undefeated at 5-0 on the season and are next scheduled to see action in the Lakeshore Cup tournament at Grand Haven next Thursday.
Montague dropped its second straight and fell to 3-2 on the season. The Wildcats are scheduled to play again on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at Mona Shores.
