Season Low High Enough for Resilient Rockford to Earn Saturday Return
By
Steve Vedder
Special for MHSAA.com
March 13, 2026
EAST LANSING – Forget about the value of running up huge point totals. The only thing that mattered to Rockford's boys basketball team was staying alive to fight another day.
Despite being held to their lowest point total of the season, the resilient Rams made enough key plays down the stretch to knock off Auburn Hills Avondale 38-35 in Friday's first Division 1 Semifinal at the Breslin Center.
The 38 points were the fewest scored by Rockford (24-4), seven less than the team totaled in its regular-season finale against Grand Haven and just the fifth time the Rams had scored fewer than 60 points in a game this season.
No problem, said Rams coach Kyle Clough, whose team advanced to Saturday's 12:15 p.m. championship game.
"It shows we have various strengths against a team like Avondale, which is electrifying. They took away some of the things we're good at," Clough said. "We didn't know about scoring (how many) points, but it could've been 10-9 as long as we can play tomorrow."
Rockford nearly let a 34-29 lead with four minutes left in the game slip away as the Yellowjackets turned two turnovers into two layups to cut the margin to 34-33 with 52 seconds remaining. But the Rams' Jake Bascom broke away with a clutch dunk with 50 seconds to go, and Avondale missed a potential game-winning layup with two seconds left. Josh Bascom sealed the win with two free throws.
The Yellowjackets' last lead was 23-22 with 2:21 left in the third quarter, although they did tie the game 27-27 during the first minute of the last quarter.
The win upped Rockford's record in games decided by eight points or fewer to 10-2, an impressive number for a team that starts two sophomores and a freshman. Clough said much of the credit goes to the Rams' two senior starters – Bascom, who had 13 points, and guard Dylan Gross, who had 12.
"Dylan and Jake are both three-year starters, so that's a lot of comfort," Clough said. "We won a couple games early, and that helped build our confidence."
Sophomore forward Josh Bascom said experience isn't the only factor in success.
"We're built for the now," he said. "There have been a lot of games where it's been a five-point game and we know what we have to do to win. We trust our teammates to make the right plays."
Jake Bascom said he and Gross have thrived in the role of senior leaders.
"I think they look to us to get through a tough year," he said. "We've had some great games, some battles this year, and we know what we have to do to win."
Jaidon Bourgeois led Avondale with 12 points.
Yellowjackets first-year coach Aaron Fox said it wasn't as much poor shooting by either club that led to the low point totals as it was strong defense. Avondale made only 1 of 14 3-point attempts while Rockford shot just 40 percent (14 of 35) from the floor.
"It was a hard-fought game. We made a couple mistakes at the end, and it kind of took us out of it," Fox said. "Rockford is a very disciplined team, and that's always a struggle for us. We've worked on it and we did some good things, but there were some things we'd like back.
"I thought we executed well, we just missed (a shot) at the end. Against a team like Rockford, little things are magnified. It's all about doing the little things against a high-caliber team like Rockford."
PHOTOS (Top) Rockford’s Jace Opoku-Agyeman lines up to take a shot while defended by Avondale’s Maxwell Muhl on Friday. (Middle) Avondale’s Qualaeb Ross (3) gets up a shot in the lane. (Photos by Adam Sheehan/Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)
Sweet-Shooting Briggs, Talented Teammates have Muskegon Dreaming Big Again
By
Tom Kendra
Special for MHSAA.com
January 10, 2023
Jordan Briggs put on another shooting clinic Saturday night in front of a packed house at Muskegon’s historic Redmond-Potter Gymnasium, repeatedly elevating and hitting 3-pointers and mid-range jumpers, making it look effortless.
While the Muskegon senior has certainly been blessed with plenty of God-given ability, there is so much more to his story.
To fully understand Briggs’ emergence as one of the state’s best pure shooters, you had to be in the gym this summer when there was no crowd, no opposing team, no coaches and no media – just Briggs and the school’s shooting machine.
The only sounds on those days were the squeaks of his shoes echoing off the walls, followed up repeatedly by the swish of a leather ball through nylon. Five-hundred made shots every day. No exceptions. No excuses.
“I love to shoot,” said Briggs, a 6-foot-1 senior who scored a team-high 24 points Saturday to keep Muskegon undefeated with a 62-51 victory over Ferndale in the finale of the three-game Muskegon Basketball Showcase.
“I never get bored, and I could do it all day. That work I’ve put in gives me and my coaches confidence to take those shots in games. I pretty much have the green light.”
He’s not kidding.
Late in the first half Saturday, Briggs had the ball on a 2-on-1 fastbreak when he suddenly pulled up and fired a 3-pointer, which just rimmed out. Muskegon coach Keith Guy, who loves his team to constantly attack the rim, clapped his approval.
“Jordan is a pure shooter,” explained Guy, whose team is 5-0 and 1-0 in the Ottawa-Kent Conference Green. “But he’s also crafty with the basketball. He can get other guys involved and he’s got it on a string, so that’s a nightmare for other teams.
“A lot of great shooters can’t hurt you off the dribble, but he can do both.”
Muskegon’s win Saturday was the 400th career victory for Guy as a head coach – with 191 in nine years at Muskegon Heights and 209 wins in 11 years at Muskegon.
Guy, whose tenure at Muskegon is highlighted by a Class A title in 2014 and two Mr. Basketball winners in DeShaun Thrower (2014) and Deyonta Davis (2015), has another team with the makings of a championship run and another Mr. Basketball candidate in Briggs.
Muskegon features two floor general-type point guards in senior David Day III and junior M’Khi Guy, along with a loaded front court with seven players standing 6-4 or taller, led by starting juniors Terrance Davis (6-6) and Stanley Cunningham (6-5).
A pure shooter like Briggs – a three-year starter who has committed to Wayne State – is something that Guy hasn’t always had, and might be what makes the difference in March.
Briggs had his best game of the season back on Dec. 28 at the Muskegon Area Sports Hall of Fame Classic at Reeths-Puffer High School. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo was there to get a close look at recruiting target Durral Brooks of Grand Rapids Catholic Central, but it was Briggs who stole the show.
Briggs scored a game-high 35 points, including the winning bucket in overtime in an 81-79 victory.
“I just happened to catch fire that night,” said Briggs, who is a 4.0-GPA student and a National Honor Society member. “That was a great win for us and we’re rolling to start the season, which is great. But we want to keep it going and play our best basketball in March, when it really counts.”
In the Big Reds’ first league game Friday night at cross-town rival Muskegon Reeths-Puffer, Briggs got in foul trouble and didn’t score in the first half. He made amends by scoring his team’s first 12 points of the second half (on four 3-pointers), as Muskegon pulled away for a 51-26 victory.
He followed that up with his 24-point performance against Ferndale and is now averaging 24 points, six rebounds and five assists per game.
Guy hopes that, led by Briggs, this year’s team is ready for a long run – literally.
Guy made all of his varsity players that were not on the football team run cross country this fall, and not just for conditioning reasons.
“It put them out of their comfort zones, which is a good thing,” explained Guy, who is also Muskegon’s athletic director. “Take Jordan, for example. Basketball is comfortable for him. I wanted to put him in situations that weren’t as comfortable for him so that he would learn how to adapt and handle being uncomfortable a little better.”
Tom Kendra worked 23 years at The Muskegon Chronicle, including five as assistant sports editor and the final six as sports editor through 2011. E-mail him at [email protected] with story ideas for Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Lake, Oceola, Mecosta and Newaygo counties.
PHOTOS (Top) Muskegon’s Jordan Briggs (2) pulls up for a shot at the 3-point arc during his team’s win Saturday over Ferndale. (Middle) Briggs makes his move toward the basket. (Photos by Tim Reilly.)