K-Central responds to slow-down attempt
Sunday, February 25, 2007 Gazette Staff Reports
Bernard Varnsdeel
Jr., the Kalamazoo Central boys' basketball coach, is getting
used to teams trying to slow down his high-flying
offense. Rockford was the latest to try the tactic and the
Maroon Giants responded, holding the Rams to 12 second-half
points
en route
to a 41-37 nonconference victory in Rockford on Saturday.
``Rockford
tried to keep it in the half court, which they did an excellent
job of,'' said Varnsdeel, whose team is No. 6
in the latest Associated Press poll.
``Lots of teams are trying
to slow the tempo on us. We have spent a lot of time working
on the half court game.'' Doug Anderson paced K-Central (15-3)
with 13 points. Morris Brooks and Corey Person each added seven.
Mitch Briggs laid in a game-high
18 points for No. 10 Rockford (13-4). ``The game plan was to
not allow them any second-chance
points or transition
buckets,'' Varnsdeel said.
``That's something we had to refocus
on at halftime. I think it really shows our character to go
on the road and beat a good
team after a tough loss (to Mattawan on Tuesday).''