Rockford Rams 62, Holland 40

Rockford hammers O-K Red rival Holland
By Alan Babbitt / The Grand Rapids Press

Steve Majerle tried to arrange games to push his talented Rockford team.

The Rams still are charging past the competition.

Rockford dominated O-K Red Conference rival Holland again Tuesday night, winning this time on the road in impressive fashion 62-40.

The Rams, No. 5 in Class A, showed no effects of playing for the third time in five days. Dribbling through arguably the toughest portion of their conference schedule did not seem to bother them, either.

"We scheduled as tough a schedule as I can get on the west side of the state," Majerle said after his team extended its regular-season winning streak to 35 games. "I'm doing my best to schedule a loss. The kids keep rising to the occasion."

Rockford overwhelmed its fiercest O-K Red foe over the past few years with their superior athleticism and skill.

Holland attempted to take away guards Drew Powell and Michael Redell, but the Dutch paid for their choice.

Forward R.C. Douglas scored seven of his 13 points during the opening two minutes as the Rams stormed to a 13-3 lead.

Fellow post player Alex Briggs also finished with 13 points.

Holland managed to pull within three before the first quarter ended. Rockford, however, adjusted in the second quarter and raced to a 35-16 halftime lead. Powell found the mark, knocking down one 3-pointer, one jumper and two free throws for a bulk of his game-high 16 points.

The Rams also put guard Kevin Wurn in double figures. He had 10 points.

"It was a weird game," Majerle said. "I'm kind of at a loss to explain it. The first half was not a very pretty half. They threw some gimmicks at us, and we took a while to get used to (what they were doing). We did just enough to get a comfortable lead and stay ahead."

The Rams never let their lead slip below double digits in the second half.

No matter what Holland tried on them, it didn't work.

That left the Dutch unable to do anything but praise their opponent.

"I thought one big key was to see if you can make them selfish, but they're not," Holland coach Mark Werley said.

"It looks right now like they really enjoy making each other look good. That is the mark of a quality basketball team. As long as they stay healthy and work together, they can be great."

Rockford can take another big step toward reaching its potential Friday when it visits second-place West Ottawa.

The Rams can grab a seemingly insurmountable two-game lead in the O-K Red race if they win.

If successful, Rockford will have beaten the conference's second-, third- and fourth-place teams on the road in succession.

"We talked about this stretch way back," Majerle said. "If we can run the table, then we're definitely going to be in the driver's seat."