February 20, 2010
Justin Klein shoots a fadeaway jumper | David Chandler Photography
High quality professional prints from the game available from David Chandler Photography.
The Grand Haven Buccaneers (14-3) traveled into a hostile black-out crowd for a battle with the Rockford Rams (12-5) Friday night. The Bucs held a slight, one game lead going into the affair, and needed a win to maintain sole possession of 1st place in the O-K Red. Rockford had other ideas, swarming the Buccaneers at home and holding on for a 56-47 victory, tying the Bucs atop the O-K Red.
“Tonight was a big win,” said Rockford coach Steve Majerle. “We pulled even with them. As long as neither of us stumbles down the stretch, we’ll share (the O-K Red Conference championship). We just have to enjoy this one, and refocus for Jenison.”
Noah Veach reverse | David Chandler Photography
Grand Haven sped out to a quick 10-4 lead, sparked by senior Noah Veach. After the Bucs’ speedy jab knocked the Rams off balance, Rockford quickly righted the ship and scored the final five points of the first. Junior Ryan Majerle provided a much-needed spark for Rockford in the second with two clutch three pointers and a pair of free throws. He finished with a game-high 25-points, including 10/10 from the free throw line.
The Rams most potent weapon was their aggressive defense, which kept the Bucs from ever getting into a rhythm and prevented them from executing their gameplan — evident in the difficulty they had getting the ball down low to their Senior standout, 6-foot-10 Nate VanArendonk. VanArendonk managed just eight points in the game.
Then again, that would be Rockford executing their gameplan perfectly.
“The game plan was to make sure they couldn’t get it inside to the big guy [VanArendonk]. We did a great job making them play outside of the paint.” said Coach Majerle.
Though Grand Haven had been the defensive darling in West Michigan for much of the season, their prowess seemed marginal Friday night when compared to the stingy, swarming pack of Rams. VanArendonk effectively neutralized, Grand Haven looked to the aggressive Veach on offense. And Rockford looked to senior Ryan Darby to keep Veach under wraps.
“I thought Darby did a good job on Veach. We thought with VanArendonk in check, they would look more to [Veach].” said Coach Majerle. The problem for the Bucs was they had a hard time looking to either of their standout post players.
Though Grand Haven was able to pull within striking distance multiple times, the long distance threat from Rockford proved to be too much. Rockford finished the game with six buckets from deep compared to just one from Grand Haven. The Rams also dominated in free throws, making 14/15, while the Bucs closed out with 6/10. Isiah Law and Veach were Haven’s high scorers with 12 apiece.
“We still have a lot to play for.” said Haven coach Steve Hewitt. “We’re a good team. We just weren’t determined to move the ball. We were trying to make it happen too quickly. We only shot 10-free throws, and that’s not good enough.”
When asked about playing for a conference title, coach Hewitt seemed less worried about that, and more concerned about finishing the season strong. “We’re going to take these last couple one at a time. We know we still have a lot to play for.”
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