Whitehall upends Spring Lake in series that has developed into quite a rivalry

 

WHITEHALL – Spring Lake and Whitehall have a storied rivalry on the basketball floor, and both squads used Friday’s early-season matchup as one of those measuring stick games.

 

The two programs have numerous regular-season matchups over the years, not to mention some postseason classics including last season’s 73-61 overtime win by Spring Lake in the district semifinals.

 

This time around, the Vikings got some clutch shooting from behind the arc and held the Lakers to 37.5 percent shooting on their way to a 58-45 victory.

 

Whitehall knocked down 6-of-18 from 3-point range, including 4-of-11 from senior Brock Morningstar, to take control of the game early and forced Spring Lake to play catchup. Camden Thompson of Whitehall and Spring Lake’s Jaden Core each netted 19 points to lead their respective teams.

 

“Super proud of our guys. This has always been a tough rivalry, even back when I was in school. (Spring Lake coach) Bill Core always has his guys ready and he’ll have them ready in March. Him and I schedule this game on purpose,” Whitehall coach Christian Subdon said. “Brock is a heck of a player and he can play. He shot it really well, and we drew up a play for him that kind of broke the game open, and they could never recover.”

 

Whitehall employed a stifling 3-2 zone to great effect in the first half, clogging the driving lanes and forcing Spring Lake into longer contested jumpers. With the 6-5 Thompson at the top of key, the Lakers made 10-of-25 from the field, but only 2-for-10 behind the 3-point line and didn’t get to the free throw line until the fourth quarter. The Lakers made 21-of-56 from the field in the game and just 2-of-13 from long range.

 

Morningstar hit two straight triples late in the first quarter to break a 7-7 tie to put Whitehall (1-1) ahead for good, and was 3-for-7 from long range in the quarter. A 10-2 run to start the second quarter gave the Vikings a comfortable cushion and forced Spring Lake (2-1) to play from behind the remainder of the game. The Vikings got the third scorer they needed, and will need throughout the season, in Morningstar and also made 12 of their 15 free throws.

 

“Last year, we had Cam and Kal (Koehler) as our one and two scorers, and we knew we had to get that third person. Last year it was D.J. (Jamison) or Ca’Mar (Ready),” Morningstar said. “(Coach Subdon) said we needed somebody to step up, so I figured I should shoot the ball more. I was able to get my confidence up and (the coaches) kept telling me to shoot.”

 

Jaden Core caught fire offensively with nine points in the period to cut the deficit to 29-22 at the half, and the Lakers carried that momentum into the third quarter as well. A quick 6-2 spurt got Spring Lake as close as 31-28 after a Reid Grimmer bucket. Thompson scored consecutive baskets to stop the momentum to end the third, while triples from Finn Muller and Morningstar to start the fourth sparked a 10-2 run that put the Whitehall lead back into double figures and the game out of reach.

 

“They had a pretty big revenge factor after last year’s district game. We’re going to be a better team because of tonight,” stated Coach Core. “They beat us in the first game of the season last year and we beat them in the playoffs. I’d rather beat them in March than in December. They’re a good team and they’re tough to defend. Brock Morningstar really stepped up big. Kal and Cam scored about 90 percent of (Whitehall’s) points against Hudsonville and we were trying to make someone else step up and Brock did a nice job hitting those 3s.”

 

Thompson added nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, and Koehler had a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Muller added seven big points, according to Subdon, and pulled down four boards.

 

Whitehall opens WMC Lakes play on Tuesday against Ludington and visits rival Montague on Friday.

 

Grimmer battled foul trouble for most of the game, but finished with 11 points and five rebounds. Core had four rebounds, while Maddux Kipling and Max Feltner each grabbed three rebounds.

 

The Lakers host Montague on Monday before a matchup Thursday at rival Fruitport.