GRAND RAPIDS — Christian Subdon was not thrilled with his Whitehall boys basketball team’s first half against Hamtramck Wednesday night at Cornerstone University’s Mol Arena.
He surely enjoyed the third quarter and the overall growth his squad exhibited against an up-tempo opponent that made the Vikings uncomfortable.
Whitehall turned back Hamtramck, 61-51, in the nightcap of Cornerstone Holiday Classic action Wednesday and remains unbeaten at 6-0.
Hamtramck is now 5-2 with its other loss coming to Grand Rapids Catholic Central (74-65 on Dec. 5).
Whitehall 6-foot-5 junior wing Camden Thompson was announced by tournament staff as his team’s MVP for the game after he posted another eye-popping stat line: 18 points, 22 rebounds, eight assists, three blocks, and two steals.
Here are more details and notables from the game:
- Whitehall led for a large part of the first quarter before Hamtramck rallied to hold a 9-8 edge at the end of the period. Whitehall went back in front in the second quarter and held a 22-19 lead at the break. The Vikings hit their stride in the third, when they outscored the Cosmos 24-17 and led by as many as a dozen points. Whitehall led 46-36 at the end of three quarters. Hamtramck pulled within 49-48 late in the game, but the Vikings were able to put it away.
- Hamtramck’s quickness, aggressiveness, and handsy defense caused a lot of problems for Whitehall’s ball handling. The Vikings racked up 29 turnovers, but the Cosmos coughed it up 23 times themselves.
- Whitehall shot 45 percent (25-of-55) from the floor compared to 38 percent (21-of-56) for Hamtramck.
- On the heels of a strong performance Monday at Manistee, Whitehall junior Kal Koehler finished with 16 points, six rebounds, two blocks, and one steal.
- Whitehall senior Camar Ready stayed aggressive with 12 points, five steals, three assists, and two rebounds.
- Whitehall senior point guard Kyle Stratton turned in another strong game with 10 points, four assists, three steals, and only one turnover despite facing the pressure defense.
- Whitehall junior Brock Morningstar provided a spark off the bench with five quick points during his team’s third-quarter run, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
- Whitehall senior Trannon Aylor grabbed four rebounds.
- Hamtramck senior Ron Johnson Jr. led his team with 13 points. He was named his squad’s MVP of the game by tourney staff.
- Hamtramck senior Dontez Winfrey scored 11 points.
- Hamtramck junior Devin Mixon added 10 points.
- Whitehall will face East Grand Rapids (3-3) in another Cornerstone Holiday Classic game at 7 p.m. Friday. EGR fell to Forest Hills Eastern, 62-46, on Wednesday in the game preceding the Whitehall-Hamtramck contest. Michigan Sports Radio will have audio of the Whitehall-EGR game. Click on michigansportsradio.com for the call.
Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark
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