Rockford boys stymie unbeaten East Lansing at Breslin Center
Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press, December 28, 2010 9:53 p.m.
EAST LANSING -- Much like the collegiate team that typically graces
the floor at Breslin Center, the Rockford boys basketball team has
endured a brutal nonconference schedule.
Rockford entered Tuesday’s Meijer Holiday Hoops Invitational
with the same amount of losses as Michigan State -- four -- and it
didn’t get any easier for the Rams against state-ranked East
Lansing.
But the effects of playing -- and losing -- to teams such as Muskegon
Heights, Kalamazoo Central and Warren De La Salle finally paid off
with an impressive 61-50 victory.
Rockford (3-4) pinned East Lansing with its first loss, and pleased
coach Steve Majerle with a superb defensive effort.
“We’ve had a heck of a schedule, but we’re getting
better,” Majerle said. “At the beginning year, we wouldn’t
have been able to beat that team, and the big thing we did today
was we played defense. We played what is typically seen at Rockford,
and I thought overall it was our best game to date.”
Rockford held East Lansing (3-1) to 31 percent (20-of-65) shooting
from the field and 17 percent (3-of-18) from behind the 3-point line.
Toledo-bound senior Ryan Majerle fueled a run midway through the
third quarter that pushed the lead from single-digits to 15 points
at 47-32. Majerle scored seven of his game-high 24 points in the
spurt.
“The team looks at me when we need a big bucket, but my teammates
also played well and it was a really good team effort all around,” said
Majerle, who also grabbed seven rebounds and was 6-of-6 from the
free-throw line.
“I feel like the schedule we’ve had helps because we
know we have to bring it every night, and it’s going to help
later in our conference and into the postseason.”
Majerle’s performance impressed East Lansing first-year coach
Steve Finamore.
“I was looking for us to play a little better defense, but
Ryan Majerle is a tough player and he has my vote for Mr. Basketball
right now at this part of the season,” Finamore said. “He’s
a great player, and they play really well together. They are well
coached, they play hard, and they are just tough to beat.”
Junior guard Justin Klein added 15 points and six assists for Rockford,
while junior center Aaron Weston had his best offensive showing of
the season with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Steve Majerle said his team responded well from the early setbacks,
including an overtime road loss against De La Salle.
“Losses when playing against those types of teams are good
if you react well,” he said. “Some teams react to it
and go south, so that’s the danger of playing such a tough
schedule.”
