Rockford guts out ugly win at West Ottawa
Cris
Greer | The Grand Rapids Press
HOLLAND -- After an ugly 44-37 win against West Ottawa on Thursday,
Rockford boys basketball coach Steve Majerle was proud of his team
for gutting it out on an off-night.
The Rams (10-1, 7-0 O-K Red) came into the contest shooting 50 percent
from the field and 43 percent from the 3-point line. Against the
Panthers, they dropped to 33 percent from the floor and 20 percent
from 3-point range.
"We knew our shooting would come to an end some time, and it
came to an end tonight," Majerle said. "It got to be a
grind-out game, and one that we're not very good at, but we found
a way to win. It wasn't fun to watch, but we'll take the win.
"You live and die by the three, and we almost died by it tonight.
We found a different way to win without the 3-ball, and I give credit
to our kids."
It was the Rams' first win at West Ottawa in five years.
"We have not won in this gym," said Majerle, whose team
is ranked eighth in the state in Class A. "We've had some pretty
good teams come in here and lay an egg.
"They gave us their best shot and we stood there and took it
and came out ahead. There are a lot of things that we did wrong,
but I'm all smiles."
After trailing 6-0, West Ottawa put together a run to take a 13-9
lead at the end of the first quarter.
The Panthers then took a 20-16 edge into the locker room at halftime.
The score was knotted 28-28 to start the final quarter, which the
Rams won 16-9 to grab the win.
The game was tied again at 31-31 in the fourth quarter until Rockford
went ahead for good on a 3-pointer by Robert Pierson.
With about a minute remaining, West Ottawa's Colton Overway cut
Rockford's lead to 40-37 on a strong move inside. The Rams finished
strong from the free-throw line, going 4-of-4 to close out the victory.
"We're one play away; we're close," said West Ottawa coach
Jeff VanFossan, whose team dropped to 5-7, 3-4. "I think we
can play with anybody; we've proven that. We believe in what we're
doing and just keep fighting through it."
Ryan Majerle led Rockford with 14 points, followed by Gabe Vanderjagt
with 13.
Tyler VanTubbergen led West Ottawa with 11 points. Overway and Jorddan
Myrick scored eight apiece.
