Whitaker scores 26 as Dundee stays unbeaten with win over Monroe
MONROE – Braiden Whitaker can be spectacular on the open floor, finishing with a thunderous dunk.
He can post-up with his back to the basket and bury the turn-around jumper.
And, the Dundee senior can ignite a fast break with his rebounding ability.
He did all of those things Wednesday in Dundee’s 55-41 win at Monroe, but he also found time to dish out 6 assists, including finding teammate Adam Spare for a 3-pointer from the wing that got Dundee off-and-running to a 21-point fourth quarter and helped put the game out of reach.
“When Adam hit that shot, it was big,” Whitaker said. “That gave us a big enough lead that they had to press us. We got the momentum, and it was all us from there.”
Whitaker finished with 26 points, 8 rebounds and 2 steals to go with his assists. He’s reached 20 points in all four Viking games to start the season.
“He’s a beast,” Dundee coach Jay Haselschwerdt said. “I told him he had to be aggressive. He came up big when it mattered.”
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Monroe coach Larry Middleton had nothing but good things to say about the 6-3 Viking senior.
“He’s the real deal,” Middleton said. “He’s athletic and he’s hard to guard.”
Dundee brought a 3-0 record to Larry Beason Memorial Gym for Monroe’s home opener. The Trojans got off to a fast start, led by Lukas Johnson and Adam Nabozny. A triple by Lucis Rzepa put Monroe up 11-3 and Johnson’s lay-in made it 13-3 with 1:41 left in the first quarter.
Whitaker ended the 9-0 Trojan run with a bucket and Dundee had closed the gap to 6 points by the time second quarter started. Whitaker’s first of four dunks – and the biggest – came in the second quarter when he got an open look from half court and put it down to cut the gap to 17-15.
Dundee grabbed the lead on a last-second triple by Ryan Zanger and the Vikings went into halftime up 25-23. Dundee never trailed again.
Monroe went 3-for-9 from the free throw line in the third quarter. It was a 2-point game to start the final quarter when Spare hit the 3-pointer to start the fourth quarter. Seconds later, Dundee’s Ethan Layton grabbed a steal and drove in for a layup, missed and Whitaker was there to dunk in the rebound. The lead continued to swell from there.
“The score is not indicative of the game at all,” Middleton said. “Our shooting in our first two games has not been good. We just can’t make the easy ones that we should make. Everyone saw the free-throw shooting. I’m not sure what the remedy is there. We shoot a ton of them in practice.
“If we make three or four of those free throws in the third quarter, it’s a different game. Those were critical.”
Spare finished with 16 points and 9 rebounds for Dundee, which hosts defending league champion Onsted Friday.
Monroe finished 6-for-19 from the free throw line. Johnson led Monroe with 15 points and was the only Trojan to reach double figures.
Haselschwerdt was pleased with his team’s effort and, of course, the 4-0 start.
“December is our toughest month,” he said. “It’s been a very good start. This is our fourth win in a row by double digits. I’m just happy for the guys and happy we pulled out a very physical and tough win.”
This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Whitaker leads undefeated Dundee to victory over Monroe
