Rockford boys overcome big deficit, hands East Kentwood first loss
in OK Red
Joey Nowak | The Grand Rapids Press
KENTWOOD
-- Ryan Majerle had done practically all he could to help keep the
Rockford boys basketball team afloat Friday night against East Kentwood.
What harm could one more wild 3-pointer do?
A lot, if you’re asking East Kentwood.
The senior standout forward exploded for 16 of Rockford’s
19 fourth-quarter points as the Rams overcame a late nine-point deficit
to stun the Falcons in overtime, 49-48. Majerle finished with a game-high
29 points.
“In the last 1:30, we made our run, and I could feel the momentum
shift,” Majerle said. “That’s when we started believing. “I
hit a pull-up (3-pointer) and I said ‘We got this. We can win
this game.’ ”
Under the senior’s leadership, Rockford began to mount a comeback
when he converted a three-point play and knocked down a 3-pointer
with 2:54 to go, cutting East Kentwood’s lead to five. The
Falcons turned the ball over four times in the final 1:30 of regulation,
and Falcons junior Brayden Miller missed two free throws with less
than 10 seconds to go, allowing Rockford one more chance to score.
The Rams brought the ball up the floor and found Majerle near the
right sideline, where he launched a deep 3-pointer. As the referee
whistled a foul, the ball rattled in to tie the game at 44.
“That’s a play we work on in practice all the time,” Majerle
said. “I just came off and pulled up. They ended up calling
a foul, but when I hit it, I was pretty happy. Then all madness sort
of broke out.”
Majerle -- an 88 percent free-throw shooter, but just 6-of-9 Friday
-- missed the free throw, which could have won the game with 1.2
seconds left.
“We weren’t trying to foul; we were just trying to contest
it and rebound it and he made it,” East Kentwood coach Jeff
Anama said.
“When he missed the free throw, I think that gave us a little
momentum back. He gave us life, because he doesn’t miss free
throws.”
The ensuing overtime period proved to be ho-hum in comparison to
the thrilling regulation finish. East Kentwood converted just two
field goals, and the Rams took their first lead of the game when
junior Justin Klein knocked down two free throws at the 2:45 mark.
Kyle Short hit the game-winning free throw for Rockford with 30.6
seconds to go. The Falcons were unable to convert out of a timeout
with less than 15 seconds remaining.
Senior Jeremiah Williams led East Kentwood with 14 points, and senior
Frederick Brown chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.
East Kentwood (10-2, 6-1), the only team undefeated in OK Red play
entering Friday, remains atop the conference. But the victory also
gives the Rams (8-5, 5-2), the defending OK Red champions, some life
in the conference coming off a close loss to Muskegon, which lost
to Jenison in double overtime Friday.
“Whatever, the stars aligned or the moons aligned tonight,
and it went our way tonight,” Rockford coach Steve Majerle
said. “But we’ve got a task ahead of us."
