SYCAMORE — Defensive rebounding and Sycamore forward Xavier Gagnepain doomed the Hubs during Rochelle’s first encounter with the Spartans earlier this season. Both Gagnepain and second-chance opportunities emerged again Friday night, and the Hubs were unable to exact revenge on their Interstate 8 Conference foes.

Despite an encouraging offensive performance against Dixon earlier this week, Rochelle struggled mightily to score the ball on Friday, putting together its lowest output of the season in a 48-35 loss against Sycamore. The Hubs, who moved to 2-6 overall, contained Gagnepain in the first quarter, holding him scoreless before the Spartan standout erupted for a seven-point spurt that included an emphatic block on Rochelle guard Garrett Burdin in the second quarter.

“Xavier’s a great player and he’s a tough matchup,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “I was encouraged with how we played our zone defense for most of the game… Having them struggle from the perimeter was nice to see and I think we executed our plan, but we weren’t good enough tonight offensively.”

Rochelle’s offensive woes were exemplified in the first quarter, as the team made only two baskets and trailed 11-4 entering the second quarter. Burdin attacked the rim to get the Hubs going in the second quarter, drawing a foul and sinking two free throws before converting a spot-up 3-pointer soon after to help Rochelle keep pace with the Spartans.

Leading 13-11, Gagnepain stretched the Sycamore lead with a pair of putbacks, and after blocking the Burdin layup attempt in transition, Gagnepain finished a drive on the other end to fire up the home crowd. The Spartans only led 20-15 at halftime, however, as the Rochelle zone shut down Sycamore’s perimeter scoring threats Grant McConkey and Lucas Overhaug.

“I felt that we had to be too perfect on offense,” Thompson said. “We were one-and-out on every possession and we weren’t getting any rebounds or second-chance points. When we were playing better a few days, I thought we were getting those points. We didn’t get to the offensive boards tonight, and we can’t win high school basketball games when we’re going one-and-out consistently. But we have to give Sycamore’s defense some credit.”

Another tough offensive quarter hurt the Hubs in the third, as the team mustered only two baskets for the second time in the game. Sycamore didn’t fare much better, though, leading 28-21 entering the fourth quarter before Gagnepain and McConkey, who each finished with 15 points in the game, used their two-man game to extend the Spartan lead and ultimately seal the win. Burdin finished with nine points for the Hubs, who had no players over double figures.