No. 3 Rockford stuns No. 2 East Kentwood at the buzzer
Rockford freshman Jace Opoku-Agyeman runs the offense in the third quarter. He would score the buzzer-beater in a 57-55 win over East Kentwood on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
KENTWOOD, Mich. - Jace Opoku-Agyeman is pretty fast. But he couldn’t escape a mob of his teammates and the Rockford student section as they chased him around the basketball court in celebration.
Opoku-Agyeman scored on a layup at the buzzer to help Rockford High School beat East Kentwood 57-55 on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
“That was awesome,” Rockford guard Eli Wolfe said. “It ended the exact same way that the last game ended at our place. It’s a huge rivalry. I’m sure we’ll see them in the quarterfinals.”
Wolfe had a game-high 28 points for the No. 3 ranked Rams (3-1 O-K Red, 14-2 overall). RJ Chapman led the No. 2 ranked Falcons (5-1, 13-2) with 18 points.
Rockford sophomore Eli Wolfe is defended by East Kentwood’s Jaxson Tabor. He tied a career high with 28 points in a 57-55 win over East Kentwood on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
With the game tied at 55-55 and three seconds to go, East Kentwood guard Jeremiah Cook had his shot blocked by Josh Bascom. Wolfe grabbed the rebound and sprinted the other way. He found a streaking Opoku-Agyeman, who scored on a layup at the buzzer.
“We had the ball in our hands at the end of the game,” Wolfe said. “Josh made a great play on that block. Then Jace made a huge play. That’s not new for him at all.”
The last time these two schools met, it also ended in a buzzer beater. East Kentwood’s CJ Reynolds scored on a layup as the Falcons won 69-68 on Jan. 13.
“That game was very, very intense,” Chapman said on Tuesday. “We were trying to keep our lead (late in the game). But they came back (and won it). We needed to try to keep the ball out of their hands.”
East Kentwood junior CJ Reynolds sits on the sidelines with crutches after an injury in the second quarter on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. (Photo | Lenny Padilla).
The Falcons suffered a big blow in the second quarter. Thirty seconds into the frame, starting guard CJ Reynolds went down with an injury. He would spend the rest of the game on the bench with crutches.
“When CJ went out, our momentum kind of died,” Chapman said.
But two East Kentwood players stepped up. Cook had 13 of his 14 points in the second half with strong drives to the paint. And Jaxson Tabor had all 11 of his points after Reynolds got hurt. Reynolds had four points, both on dunks in the first quarter.
Wolfe, who is playing with torn labrum in both of his hips, had his best game of the season. The sophomore guard drained five 3-pointers and his 28 points tied a career high. He also had six rebounds and two steals.
“I felt pretty good tonight,” Wolfe said. “My shot was falling to start the game. That led me to driving downhill and my teammates kept finding me.”
Opoku-Agyeman, a freshman guard, finished with nine points. East Kentwood did a nice job defending the Bascom brothers, who were held to a combined 12 points. Jake Bascom had six points and five rebounds and Josh Bascom had six points and seven rebounds. Kentwood’s 6-foot-9 junior center Andrew Kenyi did a nice job defending Jake Bascom, but he got into foul trouble and fouled out with 2:30 left in the game. Kenyi finished with four points and three rebounds.