Rams hold off Dutch comeback
By Steve Fox / The Grand Rapids Press

HOLLAND -- Rockford used Holland as a jumping off point Tuesday night for what could be a make-or-break week for the Rams. Rockford (5-2) beat the Dutch, 58-50, in the Dutch Dome. It's the first of three games this week for the Rams -- tonight against Forest Hills Northern and Friday against East Kentwood -- in important O-K Red Conference games.

" If we win both of those, we'll be right in the thick of the race," said Rockford coach Steve Majerle. "We have two losses -- we can't stumble too much more. We're three-time defending champs and we're trying to make it four."

Early on, it looked like Rockford would run away with the game. The Rams scored on their first three possessions. Meanwhile, Holland (2-6) committed two turnovers and missed a shot.
Rockford maintained the lead the entire game, stretching it to as many as 14 points in the first half. The Rams led, 30-17, at halftime.

In the second half, Holland chipped away. The Dutch cut the deficit to single digits, 43-34, heading into the fourth quarter. Senior forward Austin Kloske led the Holland charge, scoring 10 points in the third quarter on his way to 27 points. Kloske made 11-of-13 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws on the night.

" The kids are starting to understand that they need to lean on each other a little bit. Tonight, we had to lean on Austin (Kloske) a little bit," said Holland coach Steve Windemuller. "Austin was having success tonight because that's the way Rockford plays. Their defense is focused on not letting you catch the ball on the perimeter. That leaves one-on-one matchups in the post and Austin did a good job and our kids did a nice job of finding him.

The Dutch never got closer than six points in the fourth quarter. Trailing 49-43 with 4 minutes and 26 seconds to play, forward Jordan Clark drew a charging call that seemed to propel Holland momentarily. But Rockford iced the games by making 11-of-14 free throws in the final five minutes, including 9-of-10 by senior guard Mark Russell. Russell finished with a team-high 14 points.

" To Holland's credit, they didn't quit," Majerle said. "They kept playing hard, and they kept pecking away and made it close." Kloske and Brad Bechard were keys to the Holland comeback bid. Bechard scored all 13 of his points in the second half.

" I'm pleased with the effort, and I'm pleased with the desire we played with tonight and the energy we played with," Windemuller said. "Hopefully, this is maybe something we can build on." The game was a preview of a rivalry that will resume when Holland and Rockford again become conference foes due to next season's realignment of conferences. Majerle said he's looking forward to resuming the conference rivalry.

" We look forward to coming here, but we want to play on a Friday night and have this place packed," he said. "Their student crowd used to get after me, and I used to get after them."