Photos by Lenny Padilla
Players accepting their roles has been key to the Whitehall boys basketball team’s success all season.
Monday night was Brodie Fogus’ time.
The 6-foot-4 senior kept the Vikings afloat when things didn’t go their way early. His 20-point, nine-rebound, two-steal effort helped power Whitehall to a 61-52 comeback victory over Sparta in a Division 2 regional semifinal at Forest Hills Eastern High School.
The Vikings (18-5), winners in 16 of their last 18 contests, earned their first regional win since 2002. They’ll try to topple defending state champion Grand Rapids Catholic Central (22-1) in Wednesday’s 7 p.m. regional final at Forest Hills Eastern. Whitehall is seeking its first regional title since 1965.
GRCC ran away from Grand Rapids Christian Monday, 69-44.
Whitehall trailed 32-23 at halftime, but the Vikings wiped out their deficit with a 19-10 third-quarter scoring advantage. They outscored the Spartans 19-10 again in the fourth to pull away.
Whitehall shot an impressive 17-of-19 (89 percent) from the free-throw line compared to 7-of-9 for Sparta. The Vikings outrebounded the Spartans, 30-20, including 12-4 on the offensive end.
Freshman Camden Thompson posted another double-double for Whitehall, as the 6-3 wing packed the stat sheet with 17 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, three steals and one block. Senior Red Watson continued his strong point-guard play with 13 points, five assists, three steals and two blocks.
Jay Wilson paced Sparta (11-13) with a game-high 21 points. Sam Whitmore scored 11, while Gunner Busen added eight.
Photos by Zach Zweigle | CatchMark
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