Sophomore is super in Grand Haven comeback win over Rockford
By Matthew Mapes
http://www.westmiallstar.com/2010/01/16/sophomore-is-super-in-grand-haven-comeback-win-over-rockford/
Trailing by three points with under five seconds remaining,
an entire court length between them and the basket, Grand Haven looked
as though rival Rockford had them on the ropes. And then something
crazy happened.
After a deep inbounds pass that got the ball to half court with
2.7 seconds remaining, a tipped inbounds pass gave Grand Haven the
ball with 2.4 seconds remaining underneath their basket, right in
front of their crazed student section. Junior guard Adam Poel inbounded
the ball to sophomore Alex Eidson, who drifted into the corner and
knocked down the game tying three-pointer as the buzzer sounded,
sending the game into overtime.
“Alex got me the ball with a nice
pass, and it went in,” Eidson
said. “I was supposed to go into the block, but the defense
left me so I drifted into the corner, and I was open.”
Instead of trying to draw something up during his final time out,
Grand Haven Head coach Steve Hewitt instead called a play already
in the playbook, and it worked to perfection.
“We had a couple of different options there,” Hewitt
said. “Everyone went toward the person coming off of the screen,
and Alex (Eidson) was the screener and that left him wide open.”
In overtime, it was all Buccaneers. Grand Haven went on an 11-0
run before Rockford hit a late three-pointer, but the damage was
done — Grand Haven won, 67-59. Senior forward Nate VanArendonk
provided the exclamation point, throwing down a two handed breakaway
dunk and bringing the Buccaneer crowd to its feet. Towering over
Rockford defenders, VanArendonk had a solid game totaling 20-points
and 7-boards. Although he was only credited with two blocked shots,
he altered many more as Rockford often looked reluctant to drive
the ball inside.
Game play was characterized by a distinct contrast in styles. Grand
Haven pounded the ball inside with VanArendonk and senior forward
Noah Veach, the duo displaying quick feet and toughness as they took
the ball to the rack. Veach regularly battled amongst multiple defenders
and still often came out of the fray with a foul call or a bucket.
Rockford, on the other hand, blazed the nets from the outside the
entire contest, shooting a stunning 12-of-23, or 52.2%, from behind
the arc. Rockford shooters were aggressive, yet they remained patient
enough to get good shots from behind the arc, regularly swinging
the ball around the floor to find lapses in the defense.
Rockford was paced by Junior guard Ryan Majerle who totaled 15-points,
3-assists, and 2-steals. Senior forward Matthew Karamol also played
a solid game on both ends of the floor, displaying toughness and
emotion banging inside against the taller Buccaneers on both ends
of the floor.
Similar to previous contests, the Bucs had issues with Rockford’s
full court pressure, although they seemed to improve as the game
progressed. Senior guards Ryan Darby and Stephen May led a tenacious
Rockford defense that caused many near 10-second calls or turnovers.
