MUSKEGON TWP. - A week ago, after his team gave a very good Mona Shores squad fits in a two-point loss, Reeths-Puffer boys basketball coach JR Wallace wondered if that was the type of performance he could expect from the Rockets going forward.
The answer, at this point, is sometimes yes, sometimes no.
The Rockets' tendency toward inconsistency was on display this week, when they returned to action and played poorly on Tuesday, losing by 20 points to Byron Center.
Then they rebounded on Friday with a 62-56 victory over Jenison in an O-K Green conference matchup at R-P's Dan Beckeman Arena.
But the Rockets' ups-and-downs were evident in the latest win, as well.
R-P's Brayden Mitchelson plows in for a bucket. Photo/Jeremy Clark
They looked great in the third quarter, stretching a five-point lead into a 14-point advantage, then extending it to 22 points early in the fourth.
But then Jenison roared back, outscoring R-P 26-11 over the last five and a half minutes to make the game uncomfortably close.
Jenison pulled within five points with 22 seconds left, then the Rockets closed out the win with a free throw by Braydon Mitchelson and a buzzer-beating layup by Carson McCollum.
"I don't know if it's our particular team or high school kids in general and their fickleness, but an ugly win is better than a pretty loss, so we'll take it," Coach Wallace said.
"We're still trying to figure out our rotations. Looking at the stats, our second and fourth quarters have been our worst quarters, so we've been trying to keep some fresh legs out there."
R-P's Drew Brooks leads the fast break up the court. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Even though the game didn't turn out to be the blowout that it seemed like it would be, the victory was still pretty important.
It was the Rockets' third win of the season, broke a four-game losing streak, and left them with a 3-8 overall record and a 2-2 mark in the O-K Green standings.
One thing that hasn't been inconsistent for Reeths-Puffer is the offensive performance of the team's two big point producers, Mitchelson and Marvin Moore.
One or the other usually has a big scoring game, and sometimes they both do.
That was the case on Friday, when Mitchelson scored 22 points, including 19 in the second half, and Moore totaled 20 points, including 14 in the first half.
R-P's Marvin Moore soars in for a layup. Photo/Jeremy Clark
"They are great kids, and we've been having a lot of conversations, about where Brayden is going to go to school next year, and about Marvin's college recruiting and how we wants that to go," Coach Wallace said about his two standouts. "It's a great thing."
One very consistent thing about the Rockets has been their slow starts, and they got off to another against Jenison.
The Wildcats jumped out to an 8-4 lead midway through the first quarter, with R-P missing five of its first six shots from the floor.
But then the Rockets went on an 11-5 run over the last three minutes to take a 15-13 lead at the first buzzer.
Mitchelson lets loose a three-point attempt. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Moore sparked the run with a three-pointer, followed by a steal and layup just seconds later. Drew Brooks added a triple with 1:36 left in the half, then Moore capped things off with a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining.
The second quarter was pretty even, with R-P outscoring the Wildcats 11-8 to take a 26-21 halftime lead. Moore led the effort in both quarters, with seven points in the first and seven in the second.
The Rockets were at their very best in the third quarter.
After Jenison pulled within four points with about five minutes left, R-P embarked on a 13-3 run over the rest of the quarter to take a commanding 43-29 lead headed into the fourth.
Elliot Schneider started things off with an offensive rebound and layup, Moore followed with a jumper, Mitchelson hit a three, Moore added a layup, then Mitchelson and Brooks each made two free throws in the final seconds of the quarter.
Moore tries to dribble around defenders. Photo/Jeremy Clark
Brooks started the fourth quarter with a three, and Mitchelson followed with a layup and a triple, stretching R-P's lead to 51-29 with just over six minutes left.
Then Jenison mounted its final comeback, led by Pierce Ginzer, who scored 14 points in the final quarter, including seven from the line.
The Wildcats got within seven points with 40 seconds left and five with 22 seconds remaining, but then ran out of time.
R-P helped make the situation scary by committing four turnovers in the final five minutes.
Luckily Mitchelson had a big fourth quarter, scoring 10 points, which helped keep the Wildcats from coming all the way back.
Brooks, who finished with 12 points, takes a shot. Photo/Jeremy Clark
"I think we have to stay consistent in practice," Moore said after the game, when asked about his team's up-and-down play. "If we do that we will be more consistent in games and close out games better.
"During the fourth quarter we got up by a lot and just lost our focus."
Reeths-Puffer helped itself with good free throw shooting, converting 12 of 14 shots from the line, including five of six in the first quarter and all six in the third.
Brooks finished with 12 points for the Rockets. Mitchelson snagged nine rebounds while Schneider had six, including four on the offensive end.
Moore had five assists, Mitchelson had four and Schneider added three
Ginzer finished with a game-high 23 points for Jenison.