By Randy Gregory, Michigan Sports Radio
Rockford faced the double-edged sword of not only having to face a talented Muskegon squad in an MHSAA District title contest on Friday, February 27; they also had to set foot on Muskegon’s home floor in an intimidating venue. Both teams are ranked well within the top ten in the state, and they were meeting in a reprise of last year’s district title tilt that saw Rockford pull out a thrilling win on a corner triple at the buzzer. This time around it was a blazing start from the Rams that saw them jump out to a 16-0 lead that grew to a 24-5 edge at the end of the opening quarter. A stunned partisan Big Red crowd could only stare in disbelief as the Rams posted an 83-70 win to advance to the regionals next week at Alma High School.
“This is the toughest place to win a basketball game in the state,” said Rockford Coach Kyle Clough. “And that is a compliment to Keith (Guy, Muskegon Head Coach) and his program. So when we visualized this night, you never see things playing out this way. So, it was an incredible job by our kids of being ready to go tonight for something we have been talking about for a couple weeks about when we get to this moment. It was going to be their moment; it isn’t mine anymore. They can’t hear me over here anyway and that is why I am jumping around like a buffoon half the time. This incredible leadership we have with having four players who played in this game last year. I thought that was a huge difference, but we still have two sophomores and a freshman who start and really came out ready to play in this atmosphere. And I can’t say enough about Jake (Bascom) and Dylan (Gross). Those two seniors have been our anchor this year and both were outstanding tonight.”
Rockford came out of the gates swinging and put on a display of basketball for the opening eight minutes that was beautiful in every facet of the game. The Rams scored inside, outside and everywhere in between as they also managed to completely stifle the Muskegon offensive attack with a primarily zone-based defense that was quick to match up. Rockford poured in five triples in the opening quarter with sophomore Eli Wolfe accounting for a pair of them. Wolfe had nine points in the opening stanza that included a pair of triples from well behind three-point line.
Things stayed pretty much status quo in the second quarter as Bascom dominated inside and freshman Jace Opoku-Agyeman poured in eight points of his own. The two combined for all fourteen points the Rams scored in the second quarter. The margin never moved as Rockford took a 38-19 lead into the locker room at the break. The lead grew to as big as 47-25 in the third quarter following a Gross triple. At that juncture, Muskegon resorted to full court pressure and started playing at a frenetic pace that eventually resulted in an 18-3 Big Red run that made it a 50-43 game and set the home faithful into a deafening roar.
But the revelry was short-lived as Rockford responded with an 11-0 run of their own that made it a 61-43 Rockford and quickly muted the crowd. Bascom began the Ram retort with a length of the court drive that set the Ram retort in motion. Muskegon got back within 12 on a few occasions over the balance of the game, but it was far too little and far too late as the Rams hit 12 free throws in the final eight minutes to coast to the win.
“That was an unbelievable play to take it coast to coast for a big guy like Jake,” said Clough. ” That settled us in and got us a little bit of comfort while also taking away a little bit of their energy. Then we made just enough stops and free throws to get the huge win. There were times this year where I wondered if playing the schedule we played was going to affect our mental fortitude, but on a night like tonight it just showed our guys were comfortable and ready to go.”
Jake Bascom led Rockford with 27 points while Wolfe finished with 19. They were joined in double figures by Opoku-Agyeman with 12 while Gross and sophomore Josh Bascom added nine and eight respectively. Senior guard Chase Pitsch had five points and was a steadying influence on both sides of the court for Rockford. Drew Ferwerda (6′ 6″ junior forward) was an intimidating presence for Rockford with multiple blocked shots and rebounds.
The win moved Rockford’s record to 20-3 on the season and advances them to regional play against Saginaw United at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, March 3 at Alma High School. Saginaw United will enter the fray with a record of 15-8.
Rockford made it to the district finals with a 76-57 triumph over Muskegon Mona Shores on Wednesday, February 25. Jake Bascom again led Rockford with 21 points while Wolfe finished with 19. Gross ended with nine, while Opoku-Agyeman, Ferwerda and Josh Bascom ended the night with 8, 7 and 6 points respectively.
