WHITEHALL — Coach Christian Subdon is still trying to determine how to deliver the effort level he has sought from his Whitehall team this season, and he didn't find the answers Friday night in a 51-44 Vikings' defeat, the Vikings' fourth in five games.
Whitehall fought back into the game late with a couple of clutch three-pointers by Alex Winczewski and got as close as three points in the final minutes when Corde Anderson scored a putback basket, but the Mariners were able to hold on after a defensively dominant first half in which they only allowed eight Whitehall points and led 19-8 at the break.
"They are better in every facet," Subdon said of the Mariners. "Coaching, toughness - every 50/50
ball, they got. They played harder than us. Until we can fix
that, we're not going to win very many games."
Manistee's aggression and attacking the basket on offense was rewarded in the foul count. The Mariners were whistled for only 12 fouls to Whitehall's 27, and consequently got 30 attempts at the free throw line to the Vikings' seven. Three of their players reached double figures in scoring, led by 13 each from Landin Sowa and Braylen Zimmerman.
"When the ball's on the ground, he's on it," Subdon said of Sowa, one of the West Michigan Conference Lakes' best. "When there's a rebound to be
had, he goes and gets it. That's a tough mentality. That's why they've
beaten us the last two times here."
The Vikings kept up with Manistee early, with Pierce Westerlund and Elijah Smith hitting three-pointers on consecutive possessions in the first half to make it 10-8 in Manistee's favor in the second quarter. Manistee, though, ended the half on a 9-0 scoring run.
Whitehall's Alex Winczewski makes his way to the basket while Adam Olson defends for Manistee during Friday's game at Whitehall. Winczewski scored 13 points, but the Vikings lost 51-44.
Sowa knocked down a three-pointer in response to a three-point play by Anderson in the third quarter, keeping Manistee's lead comfortable, but Smith did get his team closer with a three-point play of his own in the final seconds of the third. At that point it was 34-27.
The Vikings got into foul trouble quickly in the final quarter, putting Manistee in the bonus with over six minutes still to play. However, by creating some turnovers and getting some key baskets, they were able to battle back and create a chance to steal the win. Winczewski's treys were key in that rally. However, Zimmerman was not swayed when sent to the free throw line late, hitting his final seven attempts.
Subdon said his team played with great effort late to come back but bemoaned that it wasn't there for all 32 minutes, saying the Vikes were too "tentative" early on. They only managed two points in the first quarter.
"We started playing with a little bit of
toughness (late)," Subdon said. "For a stretch of a few minutes, we played tough. Again, that's not going to get it done, not in this league."
The game marked Westerlund's first since he announced himself as an offensive threat by knocking down a school record eight treys against Morley-Stanwood earlier in the week. Westerlund was not quite as explosive Friday, hitting three triples to score nine points, but continued to shoot with confidence.
"He did a good job," Subdon said. "He had some that went in and out. He keeps shooting, and shooting open
shots, which is great. You can't win games unless you shoot open
shots."
Anderson led the Vikings on the boards with 14 rebounds and scored seven points. Smith and Winczewski had 13 points apiece.
