Moment: 1961 Team Tips Off "Rouge Week'
April 13, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Nearly 70 years after its first championship, the River Rouge boys basketball program remains the standard at the Finals level of its sport with 20 appearances in MHSAA championship games and 14 titles.
From 1960-69, Rouge appeared in Finals seven times and won six championships – and photos and video from those six title games will make up this “Rouge Week” as part of our MHSAA Moments series.
We tip off with these from the 79-44 Class B title win over Holland Christian in 1961. The championship was the fourth of 12 earned under legendary coach Lofton Greene, following those won in 1954, 1955 and 1959.
The Panthers' 21-8 second-quarter run, keyed by 6-foot-5 freshman Willie Betts, sent them into halftime up 39-21. For the game, four players scored in double figures for River Rouge led by Jon Roman (No. 11 above and below) with 17 points. The Panthers finished 23-2 and also included Ken Wilburn (No. 25 below), who went on to play professionally for four NBA and ABA franchises.
(Photos courtesy of The Associated Press.)
Moment: Rouge Holds Off Unity Challenge
April 14, 2020
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
We continue with our third day of "Rouge Week" with River Rouge's third-straight Class B championship during the 1960s, clinched with a 59-49 victory over Hudsonville Unity Christian in the Final.
Unity, ranked just behind the Panthers at No. 2 in Class B heading into the MHSAA Tournament, gave Rouge a run nearly to the end. Unity pulled within 38-36 at the outset of the fourth quarter before Boice Bowman, Bill Dunson and Larry Brazon keyed a 9-2 run to help the Panthers pull away.
Dunson, an all-stater as a senior that winter, scored a team-high 16 points. Bowman added 15. Rouge finished 25-1 for the second-straight season.