MUSKEGON – The Reeths-Puffer boys basketball team played Muskegon tough for three quarters on Friday night.
That's not bad against the sixth-ranked team in the state.
But keeping up with the Big Reds for a full four quarters is another story, and the Rockets failed to do that in a 67-48 loss on the road in O-K Green conference action.
The momentum actually shifted with 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
R-P's Marvin Moore (2). Photo/Jeremy Clark
R-P's Marvin Moore hit a layup with plenty of defensive contact, and it appeared as though he might go to the line for a chance at a three-point play, which would have cut the Big Reds' lead to four points.
But Moore was called for a charge and the basket did not count. Even worse, it was his fourth foul, so he had to sit for awhile, taking a major scoring force from the R-P lineup.
Muskegon went on to outscore the Rockets 24-13 in the fourth quarter and seal the win.
Despite the disappointing outcome, R-P Coach JR Wallace was pleased with his team's effort, particularly at the end of a week that was disrupted by several snow days.
R-P's Kristian Brown (34). Photo/Jeremy Clark
“I’m proud of the guys,” Wallace said. ”They fought for three quarters, but we want to play a complete game. Us not being able to go to school all week and practice showed tonight.”
The Rockets came out ready and jumped out to an early 10-3 lead before Muskegon was forced to call a time out with 2:44 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Big Reds closed the quarter with an 11-5 run to cut the Rocket lead to 15-14 heading into the second.
Brayden Mitchelson led the Rockets with six points in the first quarter while Moore added four.
In the second quarter, Muskegon outscored Reeths-Puffer 16-9 to take a 30-24 lead into halftime.
R-P's Hank Mitchelson (44). Photo/Jeremy Clark
Drew Brooks, Moore and Mitchelson all had three points in the second quarter for R-P.
Reeths-Puffer found itself trailing by double digits for the first time in the third quarter, when Muskegon took a 36-26 lead.
The Big Reds led by as many as 12 points in the third before R-P cut the deficit to 43-35 headed into the fourth.
Moore had five of the Rockets' 11 points in the third quarter.
R-P's Drew Brooks (5). Photo/Jeremy Clark
The rough fourth quarter sealed the loss for Reeths-Puffer, which dropped to 3-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Moore and Mitchelson each finished with 17 points for R-P while Brooks added eight.
Keashaun Johnson had a game-high 32 points for Muskegon, which is now 11-2 overall and 5-0 in the O-K Green.
“We’ll watch the film, and we’ll try to learn what we needed to do in the fourth, to be better going forward,” Coach Wallace said.
The Rockets will take on Grandville on Saturday at 5 p.m. in a non-conference makeup game.