Rockford Rams 72, Muskegon Heights 69

Rockford 72, Muskegon Heights Academy 69: Late 3-pointer helps Rams to big non-conference win
By Steve Ungrey | Steven_Ungrey@mlive.com on December 19, 2014 11:06 PM

A 3-pointer by Michael Peterson with four seconds remaining was the difference as Rockford scored a 72-69 win over Muskegon Heights Academy in a non-conference thriller on Friday.

"We milked the clock and ran a play, and Andy Heider created something off the dribble," Rockford coach Nick Allen said. "We got it to Michael on a kick out on the wing and we didn't think twice about it. The outcome never felt like it was in hand by either team."

Rockford (2-1 overall) trailed by 12 points at the end of the first quarter as a tough Muskegon Heights offense came ready to play. The Rams whittled away at that deficit, and what emerged was a pressure-cooker game.

"It was a high-pressure, high-intensity atmosphere between two teams that are pretty scrappy. It was a classic high school basketball game," Allen said.

Rockford overcame a dominant double-double effort from Muskegon Heights standout Antonio Jones, who finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds.

"We were trying to go for a steal and (Peterson) caught the ball about 3/4 court and with just a couple seconds left he turned and knocked it down," Muskegon Heights coach Dell Stewart said, in reference to the game's final shot. "We started off great. We had a double-digit lead in the first half and Rockford crawled their way back in. We got into foul trouble, and they took advantage of our size. We couldn't buy a basket for about five or six minutes, and they were taking it to us."

Stewart thought Jones made some spectacular plays in defeat. "Nobody could stay in front of him," Stewart said. "To be honest he was sharing the basketball. There were stretches he was just running offense and they were doubling him. In the end he was just going to the ball and making plays."

Jacob Van Curen led the Rockford offense with 26 points. "He is really showing his effort on the defensive end with contesting shots," Allen said. "It was nice to see him have a good game. We have a young team, and hopefully this will give them some confidence."