By Tom Westerholm
LocalSportsJournal.com

COOPERSVILLE – Muskegon boys basketball coach Keith Guy is an advocate for the shot clock in Michigan high school hoops. 

That said, Guy can only coach the game in accordance with the rules. So on Friday, when the Big Reds watched a double-digit second-half lead trickle all the way down to one in the District 10, Division 1 finals against a Reeths-Puffer team that proved to be a genuine threat to end their impressive season, Guy instructed his team to start running down the clock. 

Seconds ticked away. Jordan Briggs held the ball, then passed to Anthony Sydnor III, who passed back to Briggs, who passed to David Day III, who passed back to Briggs. The strategy ate nearly four minutes off the clock before Reeths-Puffer reluctantly started playing the foul game. Day knocked down four high-pressure free throws in the closing seconds, and Muskegon squeaked out a 51-47 victory. 

“Reeths-Puffer played for something tonight. We played for something,” Guy said. “It’s what you expect. You want a good district final game.”

Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Craig Smith

The Big Reds got a good one from an unexpected source. The first time they took on Reeths-Puffer, they won 51-26. The second time, they cracked the Rockets 69-34. 

But Friday’s game felt different from the jump. Playing in front of a raucous crowd full of supporters, Reeths-Puffer gave up the first five points of the game and fell behind 14-8 in the final minute of the first when Briggs buried a triple and converted a three-point play. But a steely Rockets team stormed back led by junior big man Travis Ambrose, who scored a game-high 25 points. Ambrose and Day (12 points) were the only players on either side who finished in double digits.

“He’s clearly one of the best players in the state,” Reeths-Puffer coach Nate Aardema said. “… The last few weeks, he’s been incredible. He’s been good all year, he’s been incredible the last several weeks. When he gets going, he’s just dominant.”

Late in the second quarter, junior Antrel Jones scored a layup that put the Rockets up two, but Muskegon senior Justin Watson buried the third of his three first-half triples, and junior Terrance Davis scored all six of his points as part of Muskegon’s 13-3 run to end the first half, including a pair of free throws in front of a hostile Reeths-Puffer student section that reminded him he used to attend the school.

Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Craig Smith

“That was my first time ever hearing something like that,” Davis said. “I didn’t really care. I blocked it out as soon as I heard it. Just don’t worry about it in a moment like that.”

The Big Reds looked like they might run away with the game in the opening seconds of the second half, as Day forced a turnover and finished a breakaway layup to push the lead to 10. But once again, the Rockets were up to the task – whittling the advantage all the way down until a pair of free throws by Ambrose with 3.1 seconds left in the period tied the game at 42-42. Rockets junior Jaxson Whitaker scored a layup to open the fourth quarter, and somehow – improbably – Reeths-Puffer had the lead and appeared to have Muskegon on the ropes. 

But the Big Reds had just enough. Briggs drove against Reeths-Puffer’s zone and finished a tough floater – one of only a few times that Muskegon’s potent slashing attack broke into the paint and scored over Ambrose’s presence at the rim.

“I thought we could have attacked [the zone] like it was [man-to-man],” Guy said. “We didn’t do a good job of that. We stayed on the perimeter too much, we didn’t attack the gaps. So we have to do a better job of that.”

Then Day buried perhaps the biggest shot of the game – a corner 3-pointer that gave Muskegon a slim three-point lead. 

Shortly afterward, the Big Reds started killing the clock – escaping Reeths-Puffer defenders with relative ease as seconds ticked away. According to Briggs, Muskegon practices those situations with seven defenders on the floor trying to steal and foul while the guards play keep away.

Photo courtesy of LSJ photographer Craig Smith

“When people are fouling us, we have to be able to get through it and make strong passes,” Briggs said. “We weren’t really knocking down shots, so we had to stall a little bit.”

Aardema understood completely (although he, like Guy and Briggs, believes Michigan needs a shot clock).

“I’ve been on the other end,” Aardema said. “On Wednesday, we’re playing Coopersville and their zone, and in my mind, I’m like, ‘if we get up, seven, eight or nine in the fourth, I might try to hold it.’ That was the internal dialogue in my head.”

The Rockets finally fouled Day with 39.9 seconds remaining. He made both free throws, pushing Muskegon’s lead to 49-46. Both Ambrose and Muskegon guard M’Khi Guy missed the front end of 1-and-1 opportunities, and Reeths-Puffer had one last opportunity with 17 seconds left, but in a desperate attempt to find star shooter Jaxson Whitaker a 3-pointer, they let the clock run all the way down to 3.1 seconds remaining before Aardema called time out as a frustrated Whitaker went back to the bench. 

Muskegon fouled Ambrose, and he made one of two. Muskegon came up with the rebound and got the ball to Day, who was fouled. His free throws iced the victory, and the Big Reds celebrated an intense win.

With both Whitaker and Ambrose returning along with a number of other solid contributors, Reeths-Puffer has a chance to be a powerful competitor next season. 

“I want to celebrate our seniors tonight, celebrate our guys tonight,” Aardema said. “But yeah, there’s a bright future for Reeths-Puffer.”

The Big Reds, meanwhile, took another step – albeit an unexpectedly shaky one – toward their ultimate goal. 

“This is a great win for us,” Briggs said. “We’re going to celebrate it tonight. We can’t celebrate too much, because we’re right back to it tomorrow. We have a game Monday, so we have to prepare for that, but we’re going to celebrate tonight. It’s a great win for us.”

Guy agreed.

“I’m happy I get to spend another couple of days at least with these guys,” he said. “It’s the best group of guys you can be around. So it means a lot. We don’t take any trophy presentation or any medals for granted. We love it.”

Muskegon returns to action at 7 p.m. Monday against East Kentwood. That regional semifinal will be played at Holland West Ottawa.

Photos courtesy of LSJ photographer Craig Smith