By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Photo courtesy of Rick Laven
The spate of severe weather earlier this winter forced Rockford into a difficult three games in five days scenario. As luck would have it, two of those games were with West Ottawa and they played out in entirely different scripts. The first game was played at West Ottawa on Monday, February 9 and saw Rockford hit two free throws with 1.4 seconds on the clock to claim a tense 67-65 victory. Game number two (Friday, February 14 at Rockford) saw Rockford jump out to an early lead that did nothing but grow bigger as the game progressed. Rockford ended up with an impressive 77-40 triumph. The third chapter of the trilogy occurred at Grandville on Tuesday, February 10 and saw the Rams come out on top by the score of 59-44.
The results left Rockford at 17-3 on the season and 7-2 in OK Red play. East Kentwood sits alone atop the league standings at 8-1 with Rockford having to defeat Grand Haven at home on Friday, 20 while hoping for the Falcons to drop their last league contest against Grandville to forge a tie. The Rams will close out the regular season with that lone contest against Grand Haven before moving onto state tournament play at Muskegon on Wednesday, February 25 against the winner of the Muskegon Mona Shores versus Muskegon Reeths -Puffer game that will be played on the preceding Monday. The Wednesday game for the Rams is slated for a 5:30 P.M. tip.
Rockford led for large chunks of the first contest of the week against West Ottawa. But as has ben the case in several earlier contests this year, the Rams saw that lead shrink in increments over the course of the game. Rockford led by eight points with four minutes remaining but a corner three from the Panthers with just under ten seconds remaining tied things up at 65-65. Rockford quickly advanced the ball up court in search of the winning points and found senior Dylan Gross for a three-point attempt with 1.4 seconds remaining. Gross was fouled going up and hit two of the free throws to clinch the 67-65 win for the Rams. Sophomore Eli Wolfe led the Rams with 18 points and was joined in double figures by four other players. Senior Jake Bascom finished with 11 points, while sophomore Josh Bascom, freshman Jace Opoku-Agyeman and Gross all ended up with ten.
“West Ottawa is a dangerous team with some electrifying players,” said Rockford Coach Kyle Clough. “They have several players who can create their own shot and a very talented big guy in Darian Stewart. Forget about their record because that does not reflect on the talent they bring to the floor. It was tough to see us kind of slip into a familiar formula when we let them get back into the game. But this is a very difficult venue for visitors and I was proud of the way we hung in there to get that win.”
Rockford then traveled to Grandville on the following day and hit eight triples on their way to the 59-44 win. Opoku-Agyeman led the way tin threes with four of his own to account for all 12 of his points. The Rams trailed 16-15 after the opening quarter. But a 15-2 second stanza pushed the lead to 30-18 Rockford at the half. Grandville made a run in the third quarter to get to within 34-31 but Jake Bascom then asserted his assortment of inside moves with eight consecutive points in one stretch to put the Rams firmly in command. Jake Bascom finished with eight points in the third quarter while Wolfe added seven in the final quarter to help the Rams increase the lead to the final 59-44 margin. Jake Bascom led Rockford with 16 points while Wolfe added 13. Opoku-Agyeman ended with the aforementioned 12 while Gross and Josh Bascom finished with 8 and 7 respectively.
“It is hard to say enough about the growth and maturity of (Jace) Opoku-Agyeman,” said Clough. “He is only 14-years old and comes out and plays at a high-level game in and game out with tonight being no exception. Jake (Bascom) also showed why he is one of the toughest matchups in the state in that third quarter. Grandville made a run and he just refused to let them get over the hump. And I thought we were very good defensively except for a lapse there at the end of the first quarter. It was a great win for the team coming off of a highly competitive game just one day earlier.”
The second game with West Ottawa was night and day from the opener. Rockford led 20-8 after the first quarter and just kept piling it on with one of their most complete performances of the year. Eleven different Rams broke into the scoring column on a night when their leading scorers did not put up the points they normally do. West Ottawa was forced to settle for difficult shots all night long and Ram defenders forced numerous turnovers while dominating the boards. It was a 57-31 game after three quarters and allowed the Rams to get valuable playing time for the entire roster in the final quarter.
Gross led Rockford with 14 points, including four triples. Junior 6’6″ forward Drew Ferwerda finished with 13 points that included a pair of three-pointers in the opening quarter. Jake Bascom finished with ten and Josh Bascom added nine. Seniors Harrison Snoeyink and Chase Pitsch were joined by Wolfe in contributing seven points apiece for the Rams.
“It was exactly the type of game we needed,” said Clough. “We were extremely effective on the defensive end all night long with contributions from everyone. We have always stressed that the depth of this squad is one of our biggest strengths. To see our role players deliver like they did tonight is a testament to their value for our team. Drew (Ferwerda), Chase (Pitsch) and Harrison (Snoeyink) were all tremendous tonight and I could not be happier for the three of them. Now we just get a bit of a much needed break to get ready to finish the regular season and prepare for the state tournament.”
