Rockford's hot shooting leads to Jenison's first loss
By Jane Bos / The Grand Rapids Press

ROCKFORD -- No doubt, Bryan Pasciak picked a perfect time to slough off a shooting slump and get really, really hot.

The Rockford senior guard was so perfect, he did not miss a shot in the first half of the Rams' critical O-K Red Conference showdown with previously unbeaten Jenison.

In the second half, Pasciak and the Rams were not quite as perfect, but were more than good enough to post a 54-46 victory against the visiting Wildcats in front of a crowd of more than 4,100 screaming, steamy fans.

Now the Rockford win bunches things up atop the O-K Red. With two conference games remaining, Jenison (16-1), ranked fourth in Class A, and Rockford (13-2) are tied at 11-1.

"Obviously, that is the most exciting part, going from being in second to being in first," said Pasciak, who scored a season-high 21 points, including going 6-for-6 for 16 points in a first-half effort to help give Rockford a 33-21 lead.

The whole Rams team got hot in that first half. They made an astonishing 8-of-11 2-pointers (72.7 percent) and 5-of-8 3-pointers (62.5).

Pasciak, who had been struggling shooting and averaged about 10 points per game, said that was pretty exciting, too.

"Normally, I look to pass first, then I took a couple shots, and they kept falling," he said. "I thought, 'I might as well keep shooting.' "

Good thinking.

He also got big help from fellow senior guard Jake Steinbach with 14 points. Six of them came in the fourth quarter, all on free throws in the final 1:19 of the game, to help seal the win.

"Of course I was a little nervous, but when you have the fans behind you like that, and all that adrenaline rushing, I wanted to shoot them," Steinbach said. "We were just so fired up. There was great energy in the gym."

Biggest win in a while

The last time Rockford rocked like that was during the 2002-03 season when the Rams went unbeaten to claim the Class A state championship.

"Our hats are off to Jenison," Rockford coach Steve Majerle said. "I know how tough it is to go undefeated, everyone is after you. They are a darn good team. They were not unbeaten for no reason, and we knew they were going to make a run. We just said we had to cut it off."

Trailing by as much as 44-31 early in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats did pull to within eight twice, the last time 46-38 with 2:08 left. They never got closer.

"First of all, they shot the ball in the first half better than they have all year," Jenison coach Brett Dyke said. "But we also tried to do things we don't normally do, and credit their defense for forcing us into that. They came out and got after us. We probably did not respond the way we should have. Lesson learned. You take your lumps and you move on."

Bryan Snyder led Jenison with 15 points, while Wes Trammell totaled 11 points and seven rebounds.

Rockford, which made 5-of-18 field goals in the second half, also received 10 points and six rebounds from Mitch Briggs.

Briggs, a three-year starter as a junior, is the team's leading scorer.

But he was on the bench in foul trouble for much of the first half.

"Being up by 12 with Briggs on the bench, one of our main cogs in the offense, I felt pretty good about that," Majerle said. "Pasciak had really lost his shooting touch, and he sure found the right time to find it. Isn't that great coaching? I told him to shoot it and it went in."