Rockford Rams 58, FH Central Rangers 75

Forest Hills Central 75, Rockford 58: Tillman powers Rangers’ win in Class A district semifinals

By Kyle J. Rodriguez | kyle_rodriguez@mlive.com on March 11, 2015 11:06 PM

The Forest Hills Central boys basketball team stayed undefeated with a 75-58 win over Rockford in the Class A district semifinal game on Wednesday. Sophomore sensation Xavier Tillman led the way, scoring 26 points and adding seven rebounds and four assists.

“When he is down low, he is just a really offensively skilled kid,” Forest Hills Central coach Ken George said. “He really demanded the ball down low tonight and was a tough cover for them. He’s a first-team All-State kind of kid.” Tillman is averaging 18 points and nine rebounds per game this season. Tillman has received interest from more than 10 D1 universities already, including scholarship offers from Michigan State, Xavier and Purdue.

Forest Hills Central had a 40-19 lead at halftime against Rockford, using a fast first quarter to power the win. “We were just really excited about how well we started,” George said. “Going into halftime up by 21 against a very good team, we were really happy with our first half. I thought for the entire game, the guys really asserted themselves offensively.” Forest Hills Central (22-0, 10-0) faces Northview (19-3, 10-0) on Friday in a rematch of last season’s district final. Northview won that matchup 59-58 in overtime. “We really respect them as a team, and they pretty much have everybody back from last season,” George said. “We expect it will be a very hard-fought game.”