Rockford pulls inside job on East Kentwood
By Jeff Chaney / The Grand Rapids Press

ROCKFORD -- Senior center Ryan DeHaan of Rockford saw a hole in the middle of the East Kentwood defense, and took advantage of it. With 6-foot-5 junior forward Anthony Quinn on the East Kentwood bench in street clothes nursing an ankle injury, DeHaan went inside often for the Rockford basketball team. He finished with 27 points to lead the Rams to a 70-65 win Friday over the visiting Falcons.

" We came in and knew Quinn would be a big post threat, and then we saw him in street clothes," said the 6-4 DeHaan. "So we thought we could take advantage of the post. My guards were making great passes, and my shots were falling, thankfully.

" This is an excellent win. We were down in the conference, and this really boosts our confidence."
DeHaan connected on 12-of-17 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 from the free-throw line. He scored 14 points in the first half when Rockford ran out to a 37-29 halftime lead.

" I have to admit I had a smile on my face when I saw (Quinn) in street clothes," Rockford coach Steve Majerle said. "It made it easier with Quinn out, but we would have gone to the post, anyway."
East Kentwood coach Jeff Anama said a slow start and the strong play of DeHaan hurt the Falcons' chances.

" They hurt us in the post," Anama said. "We didn't adjust well to DeHaan. " Coming in I thought we were playing a team with their backs to the wall with two league losses, but that first half we put ourselves in too deep of a hole."

Rockford actually increased its eight-point halftime lead to 13 points after three quarters. But the Falcons tightened up on defense in the fourth quarter, forced Rockford into several turnovers and cut the Rams' lead down to four with just over two minutes to play.

" I told the kids after the game there's no shame in the way they came back. they played hard," Anama said. "We created some turnovers and knocked some shots down in the end."

East Kentwood senior B.J. Ford led all scorers with 28 points.

Rockford held on with a big blocked shot by senior Bryan Anderson and four free throws down the stretch. "This was our best offensive output of the year by far," Majerle said. "We passed the ball and had great shot selection tonight. And it is nice to see that because the guys have been working so hard in practice."