By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Miles Postema
Rams rally for 48-47 win over North Farmington
Rockford has won comfortably for most of this season on their way to a 17-1 record entering play in the Wilson Chandler Invitational at Grand Rapids Catholic Central on Saturday, February 8. But they were forced to dig deep to pull out a 48-47 victory over North Farmington in a game where every point was like pulling teeth. Poor decisions, turnovers and ice-cold shooting was the rule of the day for the Rams but they somehow managed to find a way and improve to 18-1 at the end of the day.
“We talked about coming in here today after a tough, emotional win last night and finding a way to win,” said Rockford Head Coach Kyle Clough. “That says a lot about our guys, you know, especially in a game where we played as poorly as we played all year across the board. North Farmington is a tough team to play against and their style is different. They take long possessions on offense and they put a lot of pressure on you defensively with that trap. I am so proud that we found a way but in the same breath, we have got to play a lot better if we are going to make a run in March.”
The first three quarters followed a familiar theme for Rockford as they got off to a slow start in every instance. The first quarter saw North Farmington jump out to a quick 6-0 lead necessitating a quick Ram timeout. The second quarter saw North Farmington hit a pair of threes to take ab 18-14 lead and North Farmington scored the first four points of the third quarter to take a 26-24 lead.. Freshman Josh Bascom single-handedly kept Rockford in the game in the opening quarter as he scored all 12 of his points on the night. The second quarter saw Ty Blystone score all five of his points on the night and the third quarter was marked by great team defense that allowed Rockford to stay in striking distance. Rockford led 14-12 after the first quarter and 24-22 at the half. North Farmington took a 32-30 lead after three quarters.
The final quarter saw the Rams open with a splash to take a 39-32 lead just a few minutes in. The splash was a pair of three-pointers from Mikey DeKuiper and another from Dylan Gross. It appeared the Rams had taken control at that juncture but turnovers and forced shots allowed North Farmington to make it a 41-41 game with just three minutes to play. Freshman Eli Wolfe followed up his heroics from the previous evening by hitting a three of his own and senior Lucas Pitsch hit a breakaway layup to give Rockford a 46-43 lead with 11 seconds to play but North Farmington hung in there at every turn. Wolfe was fouled with six seconds to play and calmly knocked down both free throws to make it 48-45 and a harmless two-pointer at the buzzer punctuated the scoring for the night as the Rams hung on for the tough win.
“I will tell you how calm I was when Eli (Wolfe) stepped to the line,” said Clough, “It didn’t even cross my mind that he was going to miss. He has a nice composure about him and he believes in himself. He is a great free throw shooter and that was pretty awesome for him to go in there and kind of seal the deal for us.”
The Rams were forced to play without their junior stalwart in the middle (Jacob Bascom) for the second consecutive game due to a leg injury. In his absence, his younger brother Josh led Rockford with 12 points and DeKuiper added 11 with Pitsch tossing in eight points of his own. The Rams face a huge showdown with second-place Hudsonville on the road on Tuesday, February 11 before closing out the home season by hosting Grandville on Friday, February 14.
Rams top Whitehall and East Kentwood
The boys’ basketball team from Rockford played a nonleague tilt with state-ranked Whitehall at home on Monday, February 3 and journeyed to East Kentwood on Friday, February 7 as they started a busy stretch of a two-week schedule. The Whitehall game was a makeup of a contest that was twice previously derailed by weather. The visiting Vikings, led by two-sport all state athlete Camden Thompson, made things extremely interesting early as the Rams held a narrow 13-12 edge after the first quarter. But a 25-5 Rockford blitz in the second quarter turned the tide and it was all Rams from that point forward en route to a convincing 69-37 victory. The game was marred for the Rams by a first quarter injury to stalwart junior forward Jake Bascom. Bascom did not return to the game and his injury is not expected to end his season.
The contest at East Kentwood played out in a much different manner as Rockford fell into an early 15-8 hole and spent the vast majority of the contest fighting back before finally taking the lead with six minutes to play on a three-pointer from junior Dylan Gross 43-42. Playing without Bascom again, the Rams were challenged at both ends of the court by a talented, young Falcon team before finally prevailing 56-49. The two wins moved Rockford to a 17-1 record on the season and 7-0 in conference play.
Speaking about the East Kentwood game Rockford Head Coach Kyle Clough commented, “That was one of the best wins we have had here this season. We had a lot of things stacked against us with Jake (Bascom) being hurt and not knowing what his status was. We were all just trying to figure out what our identity was with the injury. In my opinion, he is a first team all-stater and to have to play without him in a hostile environment against a really good team is difficult at best. He had been playing so well and we fell behind in a hurry and we just kept battling back. That is the DNA of this team and I’m just so proud of them for finding a way and getting a big, big win.”
Freshman Eli Wolfe was a huge key in the East Kentwood contest as he kept them in the game early and continued to make plays over the duration of the contest. He displayed his speed and ability to slice to the basket on his way to a team-leading 17 points, including a 4-5 showing at the stripe. But Gross and freshman Josh Bascom also made multiple critical plays for Rockford. After a tough shooting first half, Gross poured in four three-pointers in the second half to get the offense in groove as he ended the game with 14 points. Josh Bascom stepped into the void left by his brother’s injury, and game long foul trouble by 6’7″ senior Lucas Pitsch, to battle his way to 11 points against a much taller East Kentwood front line. Despite being only 6’3″, Josh Bascom displayed his amazing verticality as he repeatedly beat the Falcons to rebounds and baskets as he finished with 11 points. Pitsch finished with six points despite extremely limited playing time due to the aforementioned foul difficulties.
“We had a meeting with Eli earlier this week where we told him we just needed him to be himself on the floor,” said Clough. “As a freshman he doesn’t want to make mistakes for his teammates and he also wants to make the coaches happy, And he is at his best when he is absolutely fearless. He is just going to continue to make plays and we trust him completely. And tonight was another example of why we place so much trust in him because he is capable of making some huge plays and getting big baskets at any time.”
Senior guard Mikey DeKuiper was the catalyst in the win against Whitehall. He scored 10 of his 18 points in the first half and displayed his combination of inside/outside play with a pair of triples and several slashing drives to the hole. Gross added 13 and Pitsch tossed in 11. Josh Bascom contributed 8 as the Rams adjusted nicely to the injury to Jake Bascom and frustrated Thompson all night long.
“Isaac Poot was phenomenal defensively against Thompson tonight,’ said Clough. “Thompson is a great player and he takes every bit of toughness and energy you throw at him and that is the type of situation that Isaac thrives in. If you give him a challenge, he will answer it every time. But those were two good teams going at it tonight and I really give a ton of credit to our kids for adapting when Jake (Bascom) went out, I was so happy as well for Mikey (DeKuiper) and Lucas (Pitsch) for the game that they both played tonight. Mikey really forced the game to be played at his pace offensively and Lucas asserted himself on the boards and added some points as well. Just a solid win for us.”
The Rams return to action on Tuesday. February 11 in a huge conference game against Hudsonville on the road. They will then close out the home portion of the schedule against Grandville on Friday, February 14. That will be senior night for an incredible group of seniors on both of the boys’ and girls’ teams, so make plans to be there if possible.
