COOPERSVILLE - The Reeths-Puffer boys basketball team met up with Muskegon twice during the regular season, and the Big Reds won comfortably both times.
But as the old saying goes, it’s hard to beat a good team three times.
Reeths-Puffer gave the Big Reds a serious run in a Division 1 district championship game on Friday night, but ended up losing a heartbreaker 51-47 at Coopersville High School.
Leading by a point with around 3:30 to play, Muskegon focused on taking care of the ball and killing the clock.
The strategy worked as the Big Reds ran the clock down to 40 seconds before the Rockets sent them to the free throw line.
Muskegon then went 4-for-5 at the line down the stretch to seal the win.
R-P's Travis Ambrose shoots a free throw. Photo/Mitchell Boatman
“In my mind, it was if we can force a turnover or they get tired of holding it and take a quick shot, we’re going to be down one with the ball and all the pressure on them,” said Reeths-Puffer Coach Nate Aardema. “To their credit, they stayed poised, they held it and made enough free throws.”
Despite the disappointing outcome, Aardema was clearly proud of how his team battled the state-ranked Muskegon squad.
“Our kids really bought into ‘us’ tonight,” Aardema said. “We said ‘OK, we’re going to go toe-to-toe.’ And that’s what we did.
“I’m incredibly proud of them. We’ve been asking them since November, believe in yourselves, believe in each other, buy in, battle.
“We’ve grown throughout the year in our belief, we’ve grown throughout the year in our ability to play together. We gave them all they wanted and then some, I think. There’s so much to be proud of.”
Reeths-Puffer ended the season with a 15-10 record and won eight of its last 10 games.
R-P's Kyle Schlaff battles a Big Red for position. Photo/Mitchell Boatman
Aardema said the team will miss its seniors — Kyle Schlaff, Tayte Vanderleest, Tyviea Williams and Ernest Jones — but the future is bright at Reeths-Puffer with several players coming back next year.
That list includes juniors Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose, who led the team in scoring for the second straight season.
“What a great group of seniors,” Aardema said. “The buy-in and the grind that they’ve given, they’ve made our program better. They’ve helped us grow throughout the year. We’re going to miss them like crazy.
“I want to celebrate our seniors tonight, but yeah there’s a bright future for Reeths-Puffer.”
Muskegon led 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. Travis Ambrose led all scorers with six points for R-P, while five different Big Reds found the net.
Reeths-Puffer led 22-20 with 3:30 left in the second quarter, but Muskegon closed the half on a 13-3 run to lead 33-25 at halftime. Justin Watson hit three three-pointers in the second quarter for Muskegon.
Ambrose looks for a pass. Photo/Mitchell Boatman
Reeths-Puffer rallied in the third quarter to even the score at 42-42 headed into the fourth. Ambrose scored 11 points in the third for the Rockets.
The Rockets scored first in the fourth quarter to go up by two points, but Muskegon responded with a 5-0 run to lead 47-44 and stayed on top the rest of the way.
With the lead at 47-46 with around 3:30 left, Muskegon shifted to its strategy of holding onto the ball. Reeths-Puffer tried to force a steal before eventually sending Muskegon to the free-throw line with 40 seconds left.
David Day hit two free throws to make it 49-46. Both teams then missed the front end of a one-and-one chance, giving Reeths-Puffer the ball with a chance to tie.
Ambrose was fouled with 2.4 seconds left and made the first free throw. He intentionally missed the second to try to get a rebound, but Muskegon got the ball and Day was fouled and hit two more free throws to ice the game.
Ambrose led all scorers with 25 points for R-P. Jaxson Whitaker and Tayte Vanderleest added six points apiece and freshman Marvin Moore had five for the Rockets.
