MUSKEGON — Whitehall's third consecutive trip to the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic Tuesday night wasn't as much fun as the previous two, as the Vikings were overwhelmed by a huge night by Fruitport star Dexter Lillmars and took a 68-57 defeat.
The contest ended abruptly in the final minute when one of the officials, apparently leery of the amount of contact being made on the Vikings' late-game fouls to stop the clock, waved off the rest of the game with about 20 seconds to go, a decision coach Christian Subdon felt was unnecessary.
The outcome, though, was settled by then, in large part due to Lillmars and his 32 points. The Trojan star had 13 points in the first quarter alone, taking over the game and helping his team erase an early deficit to go ahead 20-14.
"When you give him wide open shots in the first half, and he sees the ball go in, he becomes nearly unstoppable," Subdon said of Lillmars. "The hoop probably looked like an ocean to him, because we gave him three uncontested threes in the first half. You can't do that against a good player, and he made us pay."
With Corde Anderson hampered by foul trouble and Hunter Osborne unavailable to play (though he was on the bench), the Vikings (3-5) had a tough road to hoe to get back into the game. Fruitport executed extremely well in the half-court offense throughout the game, getting to the basket seemingly at will - including on back-to-back fourth quarter possessions after a Whitehall timeout.
Down 14 at halftime, Whitehall didn't go away, getting as close as seven points, 50-43, in the fourth. However, a Viking foul followed by a technical foul contributed to a 6-0 Trojan run that sealed the game.
Subdon has pointed to defense as an area Whitehall needs to improve much of the season, and it was no different Tuesday. He said it didn't help that Lillmars and Fruitport seized a big early lead, forcing Whitehall to play a style it isn't as comfortable playing.
"Then you have to play up in people's shirts, which we're not as good at," Subdon said. "In years past, we might have been more athletic. Here, we're more skilled, but not as athletic. So, we have to find that balance of how to keep dudes in front and keeping guys out (of the paint). That's really what's happening, is getting down and then having to play from behind."
Offensively, Whitehall relied heavily on Anderson in the second half to get back in the game, and it worked for a while. After scoring only four points thanks to that early foul trouble, Anderson poured in 14 in the second half and showed tenacity in attacking the basket even amid a lot of contact from his Trojan counterparts.
It's something Viking fans might see more often going forward, as Subdon said the senior forward creates a lot of options for the team offensively.
"We want to get the ball to Corde," Subdon said. "We want to get the ball in on the block, because that's where we find success, and that's where we'll find more open treys too. We've just got some young guys that need to understand that. It's a learning process.
"I've got to figure out what can make us tick offensively. I think we found some stuff in the second half. Whether that means I have to call sets every single time or we have to hone more in on it in practice, or to find the right mix of guys, that's going to be something. I think some guys got a little comfortable in their role, and we're going to shake that up a little bit."
Evan Thomas scored 14 points for Whitehall, and Trojan senior DayDay Williams supplemented Lillmars' 32 points with 21 of his own.
