Reimink fuels Hudsonville comeback
By Jeff Chaney / The Grand Rapids Press

ROCKFORD -- It didn't look good for the Hudsonville boys basketball team with just over two minutes to play in its game at Rockford on Tuesday night.

The host Rams, the defending O-K Red Metro Conference champions, had just pushed their led to four points and seemed to have momentum on their side at home. But the Eagles tightened up their defense and got two big plays from senior forward Jesse Reimink, which helped Hudsonville go on a 7-0 run to end the game for a 45-42 victory.

" I knew this was going to be a close game," said Reimink, who had a block and rebound of a missed free throw in the game-winning run. "We knew we just had to play good defense and close it out, and we did that."

Hudsonville coach Kevin Wolma said he liked the grit his team showed in the closing moments. " I just have a bunch of guys that don't like to lose," Wolma said. "I was very happy with the way we executed down the stretch. In a game like this, it comes down to the little things, and I thought we did them."

Rockford coach Steve Majerle said it was a stingy 2-3 zone defense the Eagles played for a good portion of the game that led to his team's first loss of the season. " They are big and athletic," Majerle said. "They gave us problems because of their size and that zone they played.

" The way we played offense tonight, we shouldn't have even been in the game. But defensively, we played well enough to win." It was a defensive struggle for most of the game, with Rockford holding a 14-11 lead after one quarter. The Eagles rebounded to tie the game 23-23 at halftime.

The third quarter was played much the same way, with both teams scoring 10 points. In the fourth, Hudsonville did not commit a turnover and forced the Rams into four. Reimink came up big on both ends of the court, scoring five of his game-high 11 points in the quarter.

" It is always big to beat Rockford at Rockford," Reimink said. "But our league is so tough that we have a big game like this every week." Kyle Mahoney, Mark Russell and Ryan DeHaan each scored eight points to lead Rockford.