East Kentwood wins the OK Red in WMA’s Game of the Night.

Rockford played host to a rather interesting setting Friday night as they hosted a defacto OK Red Conference Championship Game against East Kentwood. The Falcons have held the top spot in the Red all year long after Rockford stumbled out of the gates while trying to manage a young team through a gauntlet of talented teams. The Rams have settled into the system however and have been playing great basketball of late. In talking with Coach Majerle before the game, he mentioned that the team is starting to play “Rockford Basketball” and that he was excited as he hadn’t been in a conference title game in all of his 25 years of coaching.

Rockford came out hot early behind a 13-8 first quarter that was paced by penetration resulting in trips to the foul line or passes out to open shooters. Sophomore Chad Carlson hit a big early triple as he seems to do every game to get the Rams rolling. Jeremiah Williams was able to keep the Falcons close to lead EK with 6 pts in the first half on 3/5 shooting.

Notice how Chad knocked down this three-ball right in front of the WMA Banner!

The balanced Falcon attack was aided by an active bench in the second quarter in which EK stormed back. Lock down defense and countless second chance opportunities allowed the Falcons to soar into half with a 22-18 lead, a 9 point swing in the quarter. Seven Kentwood players recorded baskets as they shot 67% from the field in the first half.

With tonight’s game being the last league game for seniors like Ryan Majerle it was time for Rockford to fight back. Majerle did just that as he has all year scoring 15 of his 23 in the second half while getting to the bucket countless times when the offense seemed stagnant. The gym grew silent despite the packed stands as Majerle drove to the basket and inadvertently caught EK’s Christian Craft with an elbow to the head. Craft who has led EK all year was rolling around in pain with 6:13 to play in the 3^rd. After being cleared by trainers Craft returned to the game with 4:48 left in the 4^th. It was Williams who picked up the slack for Craft getting inside and knocking down 5 of 6 from inside three point land for the game and finishing with 11.

Fred Brown also found many second chance points as he corralled 7 rebounds and chipped in 10 points. Majerle was the story in the 4^th quarter however as he was able to get inside and go 6 for 8 from inside three. The outside shot just wasn’t there as time ran out however as he went 1 for 5 from deep in the second half. Key second half triples by Carlson kept the Rams around but it was Craft who found himself at the line for two shots with 6 seconds remaining. The second free throw rimmed out with a three point lead and Ivy Johnson grabbed the key rebound. Johnson’s pass to Majerle was mishandled and Rockford was unable to get a final shot to tie, as they did earlier this year at EK.

East Kentwood stormed the court as the buzzer sounded, the Falcons escaped with a 49-46 victory and OK Red Conference title. EK shot 69% from the field for the game. This was a great league to follow all year long and many of these teams have a chance to surprise in districts. The OK Red is deep and these teams are battle tested. Congratulations to both teams on a great season and best of luck the rest of the way.

An early shot from outside that Majerle was able to drop.