OK Conference Mid-Week Recap: March 17th

<p>We are officially in countdown mode until the MHSAA playoffs begin next week. Last night I attended the Rockford-West Ottawa game and saw the Rams capture the OK Red title. There were also a pair of rivalry games in the OK Green between Muskegon and Reeths-Puffer and the cross-town showdown in Zeeland. Check out my notes from the Rockford-West Ottawa game, and Tuesday’s top scorers below.</p> <h5>Rockford 55, West Ottawa 48</h5> <p>I was very impressed with Rockford’s effort and communication on defense. They played like a team on the verge of a conference championship and executed their rotations and closeouts almost to perfection. Jack Lamancusa, Calvin Kibbe, [player_tooltip player_id="814588" first="Sam" last="Krist"], and [player_tooltip player_id="814586" first="Brendan" last="Schueller"] were a handful of guys who were vocal leaders throughout the game and really made life difficult for West Ottawa’s shooters. </p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814586" first="Brendan" last="Schueller"] also had a solid game offensively for the Rams. West Ottawa plays an exclusive zone look, which can make it hard for guards to penetrate and create offense. Brendan routinely got into the paint and found his teammates on skip passes for open perimeter looks. His play didn’t allow the Rams offense to get stagnant, which was a major key in the win.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="814588" first="Sam" last="Krist"] had his game going early against the Panthers. He knocked down multiple perimeter jumpers and found his way to high-percentage looks in the paint when given the opportunity. His ability to read the defense and find lanes to the basket adds another layer to his game, making him that much harder to defend.</p> <p>West Ottawa's Blake Bosma is a physical player and got things going in the second half with a couple of solid drives to the basket. He plays with a lot of intensity and uses his size to his advantage on both ends of the court.</p> <p>The sequence which stood out to me as the turning point in the game occurred around the 5:30 point in the fourth quarter. Rockford got three offensive rebounds in a row and Calvin Kibbe knocked down a huge three to extend Rockford’s lead to nine. 10 seconds later, Jack Lamancusa stepped in and took a charge at the mid-court line. Rockford would ride that momentum to the end of the game and claim the OK Red outright championship.</p> <h5>Tuesday’s Top Performers</h5> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="814680" first="Austin" last="Van Elst"], F, Middleville Thornapple Kellogg 2021"</h6> <p>Austin had the most impressive stat line of the night, putting up 35 points and 16 rebounds in the 75-65 loss to Grand Rapids Ottawa Hills.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="611440" first="Trip" last="Riemersma"], Zeeland East 2021"</h6> <p>Trip put up 17 points and 13 rebounds in Zeeland East’s 52-40 win over Zeeland West.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="811107" first="Nate" last="Claerbaut"], F, Zeeland East 2021"</h6> <p>Nate had a double-double against the hometown rival, scoring 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists in the win.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="814609" first="Kendall" last="Smith"], F, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 2021"</h6> <p>Kendall had a double-double against rival Muskegon, putting up 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Rocket’s 81-79 2OT win.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="814593" first="Kaleb" last="Mitchelson"], G, Muskegon Reeths-Puffer 2021"</h6> <p>The crafty guard finished with 21 points and 9 assists in the Rocket’s big win. Muskegon Reeths-Puffer is now 7-8 on the year.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="987274" first="Jordan" last="Briggs"], G, Muskegon 2023"</h6> <p>The sophomore guard continues to show why he’s one of the premier guards in the 2023 class. Jordan put up a team-high 24 points in the double-overtime loss to Reeths-Puffer.</p> <h6>Ethan Hill, F, Muskegon 2022"</h6> <p>Ethan Hill has quietly developed into one of the area’s best bigs in the 2022 class. He put up an impressive 18 points and 15 rebounds against Reeths-Puffer on Tuesday night.</p> <h6>[player_tooltip player_id="814588" first="Sam" last="Krist"], G, Rockford 2021"</h6> <p>Sam led all scores in Rockford’s OK Red title-clinching win with 16 points against West Ottawa.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>