ZEELAND — With 4:45 to play in the third quarter and Reeths-Puffer down seven points to Zeeland East, R-P coach Nate Aardema did something he rarely does — subbed out star point guard Jaxson Whitaker.
The senior sharpshooter was having an off night, with just six points and no three-pointers to that point. Aardema took Whitaker out for a quick pep talk to refocus, then sent him back in.
The strategy obviously worked.
Whitaker scored five points in the final two minutes of the third quarter before lighting up the Chix for 22 points in the fourth quarter as the Rockets completed a come-from-behind 71-66 win to keep pace at the top of the O-K Green conference standings with one game to go.
“That conversation gave me a little more confidence,” Whitaker said after the game.“Once I saw that first shot go in after that, I knew I was going to catch a little bit of fire there.”
R-P's Jaxson Whitaker goes in for a layup. Photo/Adam Vander Kooy
So what did Aardema say to get his point guard going?
“I told him the truth,” Aardema said. “I told him he’s the best shooter I’ve ever been around, there’s nobody I trust more to have the ball in their hand.
“It can’t be about the past, it’s got to be about the next possession. Testament to him, he cleared his mind, got recentered and went and competed. He was pretty darn special there in the fourth.”
Reeths-Puffer took the lead for good at 60-57 on a Whitaker three with 3:45 to play. Whitaker hit three triples and went 9-for-10 at the free throw line in the fourth quarter. He scored 27 of his team’s last 35 points.
Whitaker’s late flurry brought him to 33 points for the night, leaving him just a point shy of tying the school’s all-time career scoring record.
R-P's Travis Ambrose dunks two points. Photo/Adam Vander Kooy
“He may have bad halves, he may have bad quarters,” Aardema said about Whitaker. “Occasionally he’ll have a bad game. But the cream rises to the top.
“He’s done such an incredible amount of work to where, basically it’s just reminding him of all the work he’s done and trusting him.”
Reeths-Puffer is now one win away from at least a share of the O-K Green conference championship. The Rockets can clinch that with a victory at home against Zeeland West on Friday and would take the conference title outright with a win and a Muskegon loss to Wyoming.
“You know it’s going to be a battle,” Aardema said of playing Zeeland West, which R-P beat 53-51 earlier this year. “But the main thing is to just be us, trust the work we do. Ultimately, it’s a basketball game for 32 minutes.”
Tuesday’s game was a battle all night for the Rockets, with Zeeland East leading by as many as eight and R-P never leading until the fourth quarter.
R-P's Antrel Jones (4) sends a pass to Brayden Mitchelson (24). Photo/Adam Vander Kooy
Travis Ambrose powered the Rockets early with 18 points into the third quarter, but went to the bench with his fourth foul with 2:50 left in the quarter and the Rockets down six.
An unexpected source helped Whitaker pick up the slack with Ambrose out — junior Drew Brooks. He scored five points in the final two minutes of the third as the Rockets finished the frame on a 10-4 run to tie the game at 46-46.
“I thought Drew Brooks gave us great minutes there,” Aardema said. “Drew hit a three, made two free throws, he got a couple rebounds. To come in there and be poised was huge for us.”
Zeeland East led 17-9 after one quarter of play, using a 10-2 run to close the frame.
Reeths-Puffer opened the second on a 7-0 run to pull within one, then closed the quarter with a 6-0 burst, capped by an Ambrose steal and slam dunk, to tie the game at 24-24 at halftime.
The Chix started strong in the third quarter with a 7-2 run and led by as many as seven in the frame before the Rockets battled back to tie the score at 46-46 after three.
Jones gets ready to set up a play. Photo/Adam Vander Kooy
Whitaker then took over the fourth, outscoring the Chix on his own, as the Rockets used a 25-20 edge to take home the win.
The Rockets went on a 17-4 run midway through the quarter, which included a technical foul on the Chix' bench.
Ambrose finished with 19 points and eight rebounds for the Rockets, while Brayden Mitchelson had nine points. Brooks and Marvin Moore both finished with five points for R-P.
Layne Risdon led the Chix with 26 points,
Reeths-Puffer is now 18-3 overall and 12-1 in the O-K Green. Zeeland East is 9-12 and 6-7.
