MUSKEGON TOWNSHIP – Mona Shores standout Parker Swartz had an off night on Tuesday and didn’t score very much, but without him the Sailors weren’t quite the same.

Swartz fouled out with five minutes left in a conference matchup against rival Reeths-Puffer, and the Rockets rolled from there, turning a 36-36 game into a 49-40 victory in a key O-K Green conference matchup.

Reeths-Puffer improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in conference play while Mona Shores dropped to 5-5 ad 2-2.

“Losing a player like Swartz can be a little bit deflating for the other team, and it also can give our team a little bit of a boost of energy,” said Reeths-Puffer Coach Nate Aardema. “It just so happens that was one of the moments that we made a couple key plays, and we put the game in our favor.”

Aardema credited Logan Brooks for holding Swartz at bay defensively and having an all-around good game. Brooks scored 11 points and limited Swartz, who averages 18 points per game, to just four.

“Parker [Swartz] and I are really good friends, so that was just more fuel to the fire to try to keep him from scoring,” said Brooks. “I think I did my job guarding him, since he is one of their top scorers, and I think that had a big impact on our win.”

Reeths-Puffer’s big scorers, sophomores Jaxson Whitaker and Travis Ambrose, were unusually quiet for three quarters of the game, combining for only eight points.

But they came alive in the fourth quarter, combining for 13 points down the stretch to help the Rockets pull away for the win. Whitaker led Reeths-Puffer with 15 points in the game while Ambrose had a double-double, scoring 10 points and snagging 13 rebounds.

Aardema credited other scorers in the lineup for carrying the load while the two big guys were quiet for most of the game. Brooks, Jarren Vanderberg (11 points) and Clyde Bartee (9 points) were three of those players.

“Having other guys that can go out and make a play is great for games like this,” Aardema said. “Travis [Ambrose] and Jaxson [Whitaker] are good in their own right, but teams are going to load up on them, so that’s why we have to be good with everybody.”

Reeths-Puffer started out strong, with Whitaker and Ambrose each scoring four points to put the Rockets ahead 10-2 in the early minutes and 16-8 at the end of one quarter.

The Sailors fought back in the second quarter, outscoring the Rockets 15-8 to close their deficit to 24-23 at halftime. Keontae Richards had five points for Mona Shores in the quarter while Ethan Krueger added four.

The third quarter was low scoring. The Sailor defense put the clamps on the R-P offense, limiting the Rockets to four points. The Sailors took a 28-24 lead before Bartee made  two free throws and a two-pointer to tie the game 28-28. Jeremiah Foster-Thomas followed with a bucket, putting Mona Shores back in the lead 30-28 to end the third.

Brooks opened the fourth quarter with a three-pointer to give R-P a 31-30 edge. Mona Shores led 36-35 when Swartz fouled out, and that’s when the Rockets made their move, getting key buckets from Whitaker and Ambrose and outscoring Mona Shores 21-10 in the fourth quarter.

Whitaker had nine points in the final quarter, including five free throws, while Ambrose and Vanderberg each scored six.

Jordan Bledsoe scored 10 points for Mona Shores while Richards finished with eight.

“I’m really proud of the way the guys fought back in the second quarter to get down one and up a few at the end of the third,” said Mona Shores Coach Brad Kurth. “I feel like we fought and competed at the level to win, but we did not shoot the ball well enough to win tonight.”1quar