Rockford slows down East Grand Rapids to earn win
Jeff Chaney | The Grand Rapids Press,
December 20, 2011 11:26 p.m.
EAST
GRAND RAPIDS -- The Rockford boys basketball team didn’t
want to get into a track meet with East Grand Rapids.
So the Rams slowed the pace and controlled tempo, which frustrated
the host Pioneers and helped Rockford to pull out a 61-48 nonconference
road victory Tuesday night.
"They have so many good athletes and skilled players,
that we wanted to slow the game down," Rockford coach
Nick Allen said. "We didn’t want to get into an
up and down game with them, because that would be an advantage
for them."
Right from the start the Rams (2-1) turned the game into a
halfcourt contest, which Rockford senior center Aaron Weston
took advantage of, scoring nine of his 13 points in the first
quarter and helping the Rams race out to a 15-11 lead.
East Grand Rapids (0-3) made a run early in the second quarter,
trimming Rockford’s lead to one point at 22-21 with just
over three minutes to play in the half.
But Rockford responded, scoring 10 of the half’s final
12 points for a 32-23 lead.
It was a lead that the Rams held until early in the fourth
quarter, when the Pioneers cut Rockford’s lead to 44-41.
"We cut it down to three, but they have some smart kids
that slowed the game down even more and then spread that lead
out," East Grand Rapids coach Jared Redell said. "Then
they got some open shots and pushed the lead up to eight or
nine, and then it was difficult for us to catch up then."
The smartest Rockford player on the floor was junior point
guard Chad Carlson, who scored seven of his game-high 21 points
in the game’s final six minutes, including a big 3-pointer
and driving layup that kept East Grand Rapids at bay down the
stretch.
"Chad played big, but everybody stepped up," Allen
said. "Everybody stepped up and played a role, but that’s
what we have to do. We have to play as a team."
Senior center Austin Howell led East Grand Rapids in scoring
with 12 points. Jahaan Brown pitched in with 11, and Marcus
Hall scored 10.
"We have to get better, and hopefully sooner than later," Redell
said. "We need to communicate, and that starts with me."
