Rockford boys sink 11 3-pointers in win over Jenison
Dean Holzwarth | The Grand Rapids Press, February 19, 2011 1:36 a.m.
ROCKFORD — Rockford boys basketball coach Steve Majerle swished
a 3-pointer from the top of the key during halftime of Friday’s
OK Red Conference game that helped raise money toward the Hoops for
Haiti project.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise because Majerle’s
team was knocking down shots from long range all night against visiting
Jenison.
The Rams made a season-high 11 3-pointers in a 62-52 victory that
kept their bid for three consecutive conference championships alive.
“We’ve known all season we can shoot the 3, and we believed
we were capable of doing that from the beginning,” Majerle
said. “But when you live by it, you die by it, and tonight
we lived by it.”
Rockford (12-6, 9-3 OK Red) shot 44 percent (11-of-25) from behind
the 3-point line and connected on five consecutive 3-pointers in
the first quarter for an early 15-2 advantage.
Majerle said his team’s outside shooting prowess was needed
because of Jenison senior center Jason Pretzer.
“We needed them because they have the 6-foot-10 kid inside
and it’s tough to get anything done in there,” Majerle
said. “We needed to hit those shots, and we did.”
Four Rockford players hit 3-pointers, led by sophomore point guard
Chad Carlson’s four.
Senior Ryan Majerle had three, and senior Connor McCane and sophomore
Kyle Short each had two.
“My teammates were feeding me the ball and I was making my
shots,” said Carlson, who finished with 12 points and five
assists.
“It’s great to have good shooters because every time
you pass someone the ball and they shoot, you think it’s going
in. Every single time, it doesn’t matter who it is.”
Jenison coach Brett Dyke, whose team dropped to 10-6 overall and
5-6 in the OK Red, said his team did a poor job of closing out on
Rockford’s shooters.
“The frustrating part about that is they weren’t really
contested that well,” Dyke said. “They do a nice job
off the dribble and kicking it out, and we over-committed too much.
We knew they were going to shoot them, but give them credit, they
shot the ball extremely well.”
Rockford led 33-20 early in the third quarter before Jenison made
a run.
The Wildcats trimmed the margin to 33-28 with an 8-0 spurt, but
back-to-back 3-pointers from Ryan Majerle and Carlson pushed Rockford’s
lead back to double figures.
“Carlson can shoot, and he did a nice job for us,” Steve
Majerle said. “He was 4-of-6 (from behind the 3-point line),
and they came when they were making a run.
“He hit a big 3 in the third quarter, and that was a big momentum
changer. He’s a tough little sucker and he has the heart of
a lion.”
Rockford remained tied for first place in the OK Red with East Kentwood
after Friday’s victory with two conference games remaining.
The Rams travel to Muskegon on Tuesday and wrap up the regular season
Friday at home against East Kentwood.
“Tonight was big because it guarantees us an OK Red championship
game no matter what we do (on Tuesday),” Steve Majerle said. “We
wanted to put ourselves in position to have that here and make it
something special for the season. We’re peaking at the right
time, and the kids are stepping up and doing the job.”
Ryan Majerle led the Rams with 19 points and seven rebounds. McCane
and Short each added 10 points.
Pretzer was 9-of-12 from the field and scored a game-high 20 points
for Jenison. Freshman Luke Diekevers scored 16 and junior Eric Evans
chipped in 10.
