WHITEHALL- Remaining undefeated never comes easy. Just ask the Ludington boys basketball team.

On Friday night, the talented Orioles faced a seriously tough test – a road game against defending West Michigan Conference champion Whitehall, with first place in the Lakes Division on the line.

Whitehall gave Ludington all it could handle for three quarters of action, but no matter how the Vikings tried to hand the Orioles their first loss of the season, the visitors always had an answer and secured a huge win in enemy territory, 63-52.

Major factors in the victory included a 17-point performance from Orioles’ junior guard David Shillinger, whose nine-point fourth quarter helped ice the game for Ludington. Senior center Matthew Westhouse also had a big impact.

Whitehall’s C’Mar Ready tries to dribble past Ludington’s Daniel Ramirez. Photo/Tonya Pardon

Charged with the duty of going toe-to-toe with elite Whitehall scorer Camden Thompson, Westhouse more than held his own. He put up a 15 point, 11 rebound performance, maintaining control of the paint on offense.

“Westhouse was huge tonight,” said Ludington head coach Thad Shank. “He played more aggressively than I’ve seen him play in the three years I’ve been his coach. He was the difference-maker on the offensive end.”

With the win, Ludington advances to 9-0 overall and 4-0 in conference play. The train continues to roll, but the job doesn’t get any easier.

“We’re excited every single win we get,” Westhouse said. “We take every game one at a time, but (winning a) district championship and regional championship are big goals of ours.”

Regardless of the challenges ahead, the players and coaches remain confident in the Ludington style of basketball that has gotten them this far.

Ludington’s Trey Forfinski defends against the Vikings. Photo/Tonya Pardon

“We’re going to run at you for 32 minutes,” Shank said. “There isn’t much rhyme or reason to it, we’re coming after you. We’re going to make this game as fast as we can make it.

“We plan for our opponents, but we have a way we like to play,” Westhouse said. “If we stick to that, we know we’re going to have success.”

As for Whitehall, the Vikings know it isn’t time to panic. While they dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in conference, they still have some control over their own destiny in the WMC-Lakes. They have another shot at Ludington later in the season, and proved they could play with the Orioles, despite falling short.

Whitehall’s Trannon Aylor goes in for a layup. Photo/Tonya Pardon

Thompson, a sophomore guard, put up 21 points for the Vikings, matching his season scoring average. DJ Jamison added eight points for Whitehall.

Though Ludington led 17-15 after one, a big second quarter gave Whitehall a 30-29 halftime lead that could have been larger if not for a Shillinger triple at the buzzer.

The Orioles found an 8-0 run early into the third and led 47-40 entering the fourth. A pair of triples cut the Ludington lead to just two with under six minutes remaining in the game, but consistent free throw shooting and good defense secured the win for the Orioles.