Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
SHELBY — Shelby may not be in the West Michigan Conference Rivers Division title chase, but North Muskegon boys basketball coach Chuck Rypstra takes no victory over the Tigers for granted.
North Muskegon hadn’t won at Shelby in three years, but the Norsemen changed that Tuesday night in a 66-41 over the Tigers in the CatchMark SportsNet WMC Game of the Week.
A balanced effort by North Muskegon lifted the Norse’s record to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in the WMC Rivers. Shelby is 0-5 and 0-3, respectively.
Here are notables and more details from the game:
- North Muskegon senior Brandon Rypstra, who missed his team’s first two games this season with a hyperextended knee, was dialed in from long range against Shelby. The 5-foot-10 shooting guard was 4-of-5 from deep en route to a team-high 16 points.
- North Muskegon junior Lamarkis Graham was active and finished with 13 points.
- North Muskegon senior bruiser Sam Gallo, a first-team all-state lineman for the Norse football team, contributed 10 points and five rebounds while sporting a mask protecting his broken nose.
- North Muskegon senior guard Troy McManus packed the stat sheet with nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and three steals.
- North Muskegon senior guard Denny Belmonte scored only two points, but he impacted the game in other ways with six rebounds and five assists.
- Shelby senior forward Bishop Lee led all scorers with 17 points.
- Shelby junior Treyjin Waller added eight points.
- The teams will get little rest before their next games. On Thursday, North Muskegon visits Ravenna for a 7 p.m. contest, while Shelby travels to Manistee for a game scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m.
- For the second-straight season, North Muskegon will take on Orchard View in the opener of the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Holiday Classic next Wednesday (Dec. 28) at Reeths-Puffer. The nonleague game between the Norsemen and Cardinals tips off at 3 p.m.
- It’s already shaping up to be an interesting race in the WMC Rivers Division. Hart and Mason County Central are both unbeaten overall and they’re tied for first atop the division at 2-0. North Muskegon lost at home to Mason County Central on Dec. 9 (51-44). The Norsemen have two games to play against Hart and they’ll make a visit yet to Scottville. Hart and Mason County Central have two games to play against each other. It’s too early to dismiss Ravenna, which could be a factor in the race, too.
