Rockford Adds to Program Legends in Claiming 1st Finals Title Since 2003
By
Paul Costanzo
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2026
EAST LANSING – When Kyle Clough took over the Rockford boys basketball program 10 years ago, he called his shot.
Clough had a state championship shirt printed, leaving little doubt about his aim for a program that had not won a Finals title since 2003. He didn’t put a timeframe on it however, with “20??” following the lofty declaration.
Now he can replace those question marks with a two and a six.
Clough’s Rams defeated East Lansing 54-50 on Saturday in the Division 1 Boys Basketball Final at the Breslin Center, putting their program back on top for the first time in more than 20 years.
“I was confident going into that interview, and I thought I needed to be in that place,” Clough said. “All of us remember 2003 and 2012 (when Rockford finished runner-up), and Steve Majerle and Ryan DeKuiper and Michael Redell – those guys are legendary in this state. So, when you get the job in a place like Rockford, you walk in and see the state championships everywhere, there is a pressure. There’s a pressure on these kids.
“We’ve kind of been knocking on the door here of making a run here these last couple years and fell short for one reason or another. This year, these guys were really determined. These guys are some of the greatest kids this school’s ever had. For them to be now in the great part of Rockford basketball history and Rockford athletic history makes me awfully proud.”
Rockford (25-3) now has two titles in program history, as it ended East Lansing’s bid for a championship repeat in a game that came down to the final seconds.
It wasn’t until Jace Opoku-Agyeman broke free for a lay-up with one second to play that it was wrapped up, and the orange half of the capacity crowd at Breslin erupted in celebration.
“At first, I looked at Josh (Bascom) and I was setting up my guy to go to the opposite hoop, then I saw Josh and he called me over to come get the ball,” Opoku-Agyeman said. “I saw the clock with three, four seconds left and I made the lay-up to (go) up two scores so we had the advantage.”
Opoku-Agyeman was one of three Rams in double figures, scoring 13 points. He was joined by the Bascom brothers, Josh (14) and Jake (11), at the tip of an incredibly balanced Rockford scoring effort.
Dylan Gross added eight, and Eli Wolfe had seven, including the go-ahead layup with 56 seconds remaining.
Wolfe, a sophomore guard who holds scholarship offers from multiple schools in the state, including Central Michigan, has spent much of this season dealing with injuries and will have surgery on his hips in the offseason.
“What he did for us this year is absolutely incredible,” Clough said. “Two torn labrums in his hips, he rolled his ankle in the Regional Semifinal against Saginaw, and he just wouldn’t take any time off. Even at times when we asked him to sit out during practice, he knew he had to be in there with his teammates. He’s one of the best guards in the whole state, period. This year he played incredibly limited. It’s an incredible commitment to his team. He could have stopped early, had the surgery and been back for AAU, but he loves these guys. And what he did deserves a lot of attention, because it was absolutely selfless and incredible.”
While Wolfe’s shot put the Rams ahead and Opoku-Agyeman’s sealed the game, it was their team defense in between that won the game.
Rockford would not let Mr. Basketball Award winner KJ Torbert get a look at the basket, running a second defender to him every time he got the ball. East Lansing called a pair of timeouts to try and set something up, but Rockford continued to force the ball out of Torbert’s hands or deny him all together.
Clough credited his coaching staff and a morning walkthrough for preparing his team to deny Torbert his chance.
Nearly 50 seconds passed after Wolfe's go-ahead basket, but eventually the Trojans (27-2) did find an open shot from the baseline. But it didn't fall.
“I said, ‘Somebody else is going to have to make a play,’” East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell said. “Obviously they’re doubling KJ, we tried to draw up a scheme to get the ball for an open shot, and actually we got an open shot, but couldn’t knock it down.”
Torbert did finish with 28 points on the day, adding five rebounds in his final game for East Lansing. He will continue his career at Bowling Green, where he’ll be a conference rival of Rockford’s Jake Bascom, who is headed to Central Michigan.
“What can you say about KJ Torbert?” Clough said. “Maybe one of the best players in this state in quite a while, and he stuck here with us in the state. As a coach in this state, I appreciate a guy so much like that. He’s got such a talent level that it brings that kind of a crowd like that into the Breslin Center.”
Kingston Thomas added 10 points for the Trojans, while Tyree Anthony had seven.
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford players raise their championship trophy after winning the Division 1 championship Saturday at Breslin Center. (Middle) Jake Bascom (24) and Drew Ferwerda (22) wall off East Lansing’s KJ Torbert under the basket. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Breslin Bound: 2022-23 Boys Report Week 11
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
February 20, 2023
We’re less than a week from taking thousands of results from this season and crunching the numbers to seed the top two teams in 128 MHSAA Boys Basketball Districts. Those will be published Sunday.
But if you think everything is wrapped up for the regular season, just check out our list of “Can’t-Miss Contests” below.
Those five games top what might end up one of the most exciting weeks of boys hoops this entire winter, and that’s without including Friday’s Detroit Catholic League Cardinal championship game as the top four placers from one of the state’s most competitive leagues will contend over two rounds this week.
“Breslin Bound” is powered by MI Student Aid and based on results and schedules posted for each school at MHSAA.com.
Week in Review
The countdown of last week’s five most intriguing results:
1. Detroit Cass Tech 74, Detroit Martin Luther King 70 (OT) The Technicians (21-0) followed up a 57-55 win over King (10-7) on Jan. 20 to clinch the Detroit Public School League Tournament title.
2. Grand Blanc 70, Muskegon 62 (OT) Grand Blanc (17-2) is No. 3 in Division 1 MPR and Muskegon (17-2) is No. 4, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them meet again with much more on the line next month.
3. Flint Beecher 48, Flint Hamady 43 The Bucs (15-3) clinched the Genesee Area Conference Red title outright, finishing a regular-season sweep of the rival Hawks (16-4).
4. Escanaba 72, Painesdale Jeffers 68 (OT) After falling to Painesdale Jeffers in their Jan. 20 meeting 74-71, the Eskymos (10-6) handed the Jets (17-1) their only defeat.
5. Redford Union 57, Romulus 55 The Panthers (14-5) added this to an overtime win over Romulus (14-5) from Jan. 20 to clinch the Western Wayne Athletic Conference title.
Watch List
With an eye toward March, here are two teams in each division making sparks:
DIVISION 1
Lansing Waverly (14-5) The Warriors may have just enjoyed their best week of what’s guaranteed to be their winningest season since 2013-14. They took a one-game lead in the Capital Area Activities Conference Blue by avenging a Jan. 23 loss to Okemos with a 72-53 win Feb. 13, then outlasted Grand Ledge 68-64 in overtime and edged Benton Harbor 76-71 on Saturday. Of 14 victories, 11 have come against teams with winning records – with the losses to Okemos (14-3) and East Lansing (9-8) in league and Detroit Renaissance (12-7), River Rouge (14-5) and Davison (14-6) nonconference.
Oak Park (10-5) In an Oakland Activities Association Red where all five teams have double-digit wins led North Farmington (17-1) and Ferndale (10-6) at the top, Oak Park might not be getting the attention it would otherwise. But the Knights are No. 9 in statewide Division 1 MPR, with four of those losses coming to North Farmington (twice), Ferndale or Clarkston – and with the Clarkston and Ferndale rematches next week. Oak Park would be the second seed in a similarly-strong District if brackets were drawn today.
DIVISION 2
Croswell-Lexington (15-3) The Pioneers took a major step toward retaining a share of the Blue Water Area Conference title with a 54-45 win Thursday over Richmond (15-2) after falling to the Blue Devils on Jan. 19. Croswell-Lexington and Richmond both have one league loss (to each other), but the Pioneers have one more win and their final three games against the bottom three teams in the BWAC standings. Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port Laker (13-3) tonight should provide another solid test.
Grand Rapids Catholic Central (14-5) The reigning Division 2 runner-up Cougars have bounced back from an 0-3 start with 14 wins over their last 16 games as they’ve moved to the top of the O-K Gold. They can clinch the championship outright Tuesday against second-place Grand Rapids South Christian (16-3), which GRCC defeated 71-67 on Jan. 24. Nine of those 14 wins have come against teams with records .500 or better, paying off in the Cougars also topping their District in MPR.
DIVISION 3
Brown City (18-1) The Green Devils can clinch the Greater Thumb Conference East title outright Tuesday against second-place Sandusky (12-6), which they defeated 42-37 in their first matchup Jan. 25. Brown City’s only loss came to Laker, 64-61 in its second game this season, and the Green Devils are coming off finishing a regular-season sweep of Ubly after placing second to the Bearcats in the league standings a year ago.
Cass City (16-1) As noted here, more than one-third of Cass City’s wins have come with go-ahead points during the final seconds – and the halfcourt shot to down Elkton-Pigeon-Bay Port 43-42 on Jan. 27 has Cass City sitting a game ahead of Laker in the GTC West standings with the rematch set for Friday. Cass City’s only loss was 50-41 to Bad Axe on Jan. 6, avenged with a 46-45 win Feb. 1. The Red Hawks presently also sit atop a District bracket that includes both Bad Axe and Laker.
DIVISION 4
Eau Claire (15-4) The Fighting Beavers have clinched a share of the Berrien-Cass-St. Joseph Conference championship after finishing second last season and winning only five games total during the abbreviated 2020-21. They are 11-1 since the start of the calendar year, losing only to Benton Harbor Countryside Academy and avenging that loss Friday to gain the league title share. An 84-68 win over Galesburg-Augusta (15-4) jumps out – and they play again Wednesday – but so too does Eau Claire’s nine games scoring at least 80 points.
Kingston (15-3) After finishing 10-11 and fifth in the North Central Thumb Conference Stars a year ago, Kingston has changed lanes and clinched the championship outright with a 47-39 win over Peck on Friday. A 61-60 double-overtime victory over second-place Dryden three days earlier was more key, and the Cardinals sit No. 10 in statewide Division 4 MPR with all three losses to Division 2 or 3 teams, including Brown City (see above).
Can’t-Miss Contests
Be on the lookout for results of these games coming up:
Tuesday – Jackson (15-4) at Chelsea (16-2) – This will decide if Chelsea wins the Southeastern Conference White title outright or shares with the Vikings, who won the Jan. 31 matchup 76-69.
Tuesday – Ovid-Elsie (15-2) at Chesaning (15-3) – They enter tied for first in the Mid-Michigan Activities Conference and will both have one league game remaining. Ovid-Elsie won the Jan. 16 meeting 55-51 in overtime.
Tuesday – Boyne City (17-2) at Traverse City St. Francis (15-3) – The Ramblers have a one-game lead on St. Francis in the Lake Michigan Conference with two games to play, and after winning their first meeting 50-44 on Jan. 24.
Friday – Hudsonville (14-5) at East Kentwood (14-5) – These two have risen to the top of a tightly-packed O-K Red race and could decide the championship outright if they both also win Tuesday. Hudsonville won 54-45 when they met Jan. 27.
Friday – Ferndale (10-6) at North Farmington (17-1) – North Farmington is No. 1 in Division 1 MPR, Ferndale is No. 1 in Division 2, and the Raiders lead the Eagles by a game in the OAA Red. North Farmington won 50-48 on Jan. 31.
MHSAA.com's weekly “Breslin Bound” previews and reviews are powered by MI Student Aid, a part of the Office of Postsecondary Financial Planning located within the Michigan Department of Treasury. MI Student Aid encourages students to pursue postsecondary education by providing access to student financial resources and information. MI Student Aid administers the state’s 529 college savings programs (MET/MESP), as well as scholarship and grant programs that help make college Accessible, Affordable and Attainable for you. Connect with MI Student Aid at www.michigan.gov/mistudentaid and find more information on Facebook and Twitter @mistudentaid.
PHOTO North Branch earned its best win this season Tuesday, 65-63 over Millington. (Photo by Terry Lyons.)