Rockford Rams 58, East Kentwood Falcons 54 (OT)

Rockford continues mastery of East Kentwood
Jeff Chaney | The Grand Rapids Press

ROCKFORD -- The Rockford boys basketball team and coach Steve Majerle have had great success playing East Kentwood at home.

Heading into Friday night's O-K Red Conference showdown, the Rams had won 11 in a row at Rockford against the Falcons, all under Majerle's watch.

But earning win No. 12 was not easy, as East Kentwood pushed the conference-leading Rams to overtime before falling 58-54.

Rockford remains unbeaten in the O-K Red with a 9-0 record and the Falcons drop to 5-4 in the league.

"They are a very good team," Majerle said. "That is two overtime games with them this year. They have similar players to us, in that they are small and can shoot the ball. It was a good win."

Senior leadership prevailed in the extra session for the Rams. Senior guard Gabe VanderJagt scored his team's first points in the overtime period, and later tossed a beautiful pass to senior post player Jonathan Prins, who converted the pass into a three-point play after an East Kentwood foul.

On defense, Rockford senior guard Brogan Bibler caused a huge turnover and forced a charging foul that was the difference in the game.

"My seniors were big in overtime," said Majerle, who is 23-2 against East Kentwood, including a 12-0 mark at Rockford. "All three have been up on the varsity for three years, and they play hard. They made some mistakes down the stretch, but they also made up for it."

Right from the start, Rockford knew it would be a tough game.

East Kentwood's athleticism was on display in the first half, as the Falcons outrebounded Rockford and got to most of the loose balls in the first 16 minutes of play. That allowed the Falcons to take the early lead and maintain it throughout the first half. They went into halftime with a 23-20 advantage.

East Kentwood grabbed 12 more rebounds than the Rams in the first half, which allowed the Falcons to compensate for 10-of-31 shooting.

"Our kids work hard," East Kentwood coach Jeff Anama said. "We have to out-hustle you, because we definitely aren't going to out-size you."

The Rams took a one-point lead into the fourth quarter on the strength of Bibler's hot shooting. He hit three 3-pointers in the quarter for nine of his 13 points.

The Falcons managed to tie the score at the end of regulation after John Ford put up a big 3-pointer. With less than a minute to play, Ford's shot tied the game, 51-51.

"I'm real proud of the kids," Anama said. "We have now gone two overtimes with Rockford and lost by a basket each time, and they are a state-ranked team. So we are on the edge."

But it is the Rams who control their own destiny.

"I told these kids after the game that they are special," Majerle said. "If they are able to run the table in this conference, not many teams have been able to do that. But we still have a long way to go."

Prins and Vanderjagt led Rockford with 15 points apiece.

Mykhal Guy led East Kentwood with 12.