Rockford Rams 47, FH Northern Huskies 40

Rockford outlasts Forest Hills Northern, 47-40, in Class A district opener
Dean Holzwarth | grsports@mlive.com, March 05, 2012 10:24 p.m.

ROCKFORD – The Rockford boys basketball team relied on its staple when its offense was struggling in Monday night's Class A district opener.

The Rams turned to their defense to help earn a 47-40 victory against Forest Hills Northern in a battle of OK Conference champions.

Rockford (16-5) won a share of the OK Red, while the Huskies (14-7) grabbed a piece of the OK Blue title.

“Our defense really stepped up when it needed to, and they missed some shots that they maybe normally make,” said Rams coach Nick Allen, whose team will face Creston in a semifinal game on Wednesday.

“We weren't scoring, so we had to be pretty reliant on our defense.”

The Rams, who held the Huskies to less than 30 percent shooting, made only one field goal in the third quarter.

Junior Chad Carlson converted a 3-point play in the final seconds of the third quarter for Rockford's only bucket.

The Rams had only five third-quarter points, but still led 30-26 entering the fourth after limiting FHN to eight points.

“The name of the game is to find a way to win,” Allen said. “And hopefully we can keep it going.”

The Huskies made a charge in the second half, thanks to junior guard Michael McLaughlin, who scored nine of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

FHN got to within 36-34 midway through the fourth, but couldn't get any closer.

“We made a little adjustment in the second half, and I'm very proud of my guys and how they battled back and got to down to two points and,” Huskies coach Joe Soules said. “We had a shot, but it is playoff time and it's all about one turnover or couple of foul shots.

“We were very resilient in a hostile environment, and it has been a great ride with a great group of guys.”

Carlson led Rockford with 15 points, and senior Scott Nikodemski added 10.

Junior Kyle Thomas scored all nine of FHN's points in the first quarter and finished with 11.