Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
MUSKEGON — Whitehall boys basketball coach Christian Subdon believes his 2023-24 squad has the chance to be among the best in school history.
It’s a long road and there’s lots of work to do, but the Vikings took a good first step in their season opener Friday night.
Whitehall received contributions from many sources in a 68-43 victory over host Orchard View in a West Michigan Conference Lakes Division matchup.
Below are more details and notables from the game, plus a highlights and reaction video:
- Whitehall’s Camden Thompson, a 6-foot-5 junior and two-time CatchMark SportsNet Player of the Year, opened the new campaign with an 18-point, 14-rebound effort. It included an alley-oop dunk on a feed from senior point guard Kyle Stratton, reminiscent of the touchdown passes from Stratton to Thompson on the football field. Thompson added two steals.
- Whitehall senior Ca’Mar Ready showed his explosiveness in scoring and rebounding in a strong first game for him. He finished with 15 points, five rebounds, four steals, and one block.
- Whitehall senior sharpshooter DJ Jamison scored 12 points, including going 3-of-6 from 3-point range.
- Whitehall junior Kal Koehler added seven points, two rebounds, and two steals.
- As a team, the Vikings totaled 15 steals on the night.
- Whitehall led 13-5 after one quarter, 34-21 at halftime, and 56-29 through three quarters.
- Last season, Whitehall shared the WMC Lakes Division title with Ludington as the teams won on each other’s court. After winning a Division 2 district title in the 2021-22 season, the Vikings fell in overtime to Fruitport in last year’s district semifinals, 77-69. Whitehall and Fruitport get a rematch in the opener of the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Holiday Classic Dec. 28 at Reeths-Puffer.
- This was Orchard View’s second game of the season. OV opened on Tuesday night at Wyoming Tri-unity Christian, falling 62-22 to the Division 4 state power.
- Against Whitehall, Orchard View senior Brian Sewell Jr. led his team with 14 points, including four 3-pointers.
- Orchard View junior Curtis Scott scored 13 points in Friday’s game.
- Next Tuesday, Whitehall faces a nonleague road test against Spring Lake, which is coming off a 58-53 win Friday at Ludington. The same night, Orchard View hosts Belding in a nonconference matchup.
DON’T MISS THE TIKTOKS
Below are TikToks of the alley-oop dunk by Thompson as well as Whitehall junior Myles Welch’s steal and difficult layup down the stretch. After the game, Welch’s teammates said that Orchard View was his “palace” because he converted a game-winning and-one in a JV contest at OV last year.
