Tough early defense leads West Ottawa boys basketball team to 46-40 win over Rockford
By Patrick Nothaft | pnothaft@mlive.com on January 15, 2014 12:17 a.m.

The Holland West Ottawa boys basketball team held Rockford to just four first-quarter points and held on to claim a 46-40 home win in Tuesday's OK Red conference opener. "We played really well in the first half and had a lot of defensive energy," said West Ottawa coach Steve Windemuller, whose team held a 25-15 lead at the half.

Jonell Williams led West Ottawa with 11 points, and Jared McNitt added 10 points for the Panthers, who were playing in their home opener.

"We worked for the best shot we could get and got a lot of looks in the paint," Windemuller said. "Rockford started making some shots in the second half to get it close, but it was good for our kids to make some shots in the clutch and make some free throws to seal the win."

Rockford's Chris Sunday led his team with 10 points.