WHITEHALL — Thursday night’s West Michigan Conference Lakes Division boys basketball game between host Whitehall and Orchard View had a little bit of everything.
It was an emotional scene to be sure.
It began with Whitehall celebrating its five seniors, followed by fan/teammate favorite Tyler Manzo scoring the first bucket of the game. It concluded with a 70-57 Whitehall victory that was harder fought than many expected, but still resulted in the Vikings earning a share of the Lakes Division title with Ludington.
Whitehall closes the regular season with a 17-5 record and finished divisional play at 11-1. The WMC Lakes Division co-champion Vikings and Orioles each won on the other’s home court by 11 points.
Whitehall next sets its sights on winning a second-straight Division 2 district championship. At 7 p.m. next Wednesday, the Vikings will face the winner of Monday’s tournament opener between host Fruitport and Montague.
Whitehall sophomore Camden Thompson continued his big season and recent tear with 26 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, one steal and three blocks. He’s now 23 points away from the Vikings’ single-season scoring record.
Whitehall junior Trannon Aylor had 14 points and two assists. Junior Kyle Stratton added eight points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals for the Vikings, while juniors DJ Jamison and Ca’Mar Ready chipped in seven points apiece.
For Manzo, the game-opening basket was his second of the season and second of his varsity basketball career.
No stats were submitted for Orchard View (2-19, 1-10 WMC Lakes), which closes the regular season with a makeup game at Fremont Saturday night. The Cardinals open Division 2 district play Monday at Fruitport against neighboring rival Oakridge.
Thanks to CatchMark student volunteer Emily Vanderstelt for capturing moments of the game on video and through her photo gallery below.
Photos by Emily Vanderstelt for CatchMark
