Boys Basketball: Rock Falls runs through Rochelle

Green, Gould score 11 points as Hubs lose 78-44

Russell Hodges
Posted 12/17/18

The slumping Rochelle varsity boys basketball team carried four consecutive losses into its nonconference matchup against unbeaten Rock Falls on Tuesday.

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Boys Basketball: Rock Falls runs through Rochelle

Green, Gould score 11 points as Hubs lose 78-44

Posted

ROCK FALLS — The slumping Rochelle varsity boys basketball team carried four consecutive losses into its nonconference matchup against unbeaten Rock Falls on Tuesday. The Hubs fell by over 20 points against both Ottawa and LaSalle-Peru this past weekend, and unfortunately for the purple and white, things didn’t get much easier against a talented Rockets team.

Sluggish third quarters have crippled the Hubs in recent games, and Tuesday was no different, as the Rockets exploded with a 34-7 run to open the second half. Despite trailing by only 12 points at halftime, the Hubs were nowhere close to Rock Falls by the start of the fourth quarter, and Rochelle lost by a final score of 78-44 to drop to 3-8 overall.

“We did some good things last night, especially in the second quarter,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “I thought our man defense was coming around a little bit and I was encouraged by how we got their lead down to 12 points at halftime… They took a commanding lead in the third quarter and it ended up getting ugly after that.”

Senior Isaac Green and junior Seth Gould each led the Hubs with 11 points in the game, while sophomore Garrett Burdin added 10 points. Rock Falls led 37-25 at halftime, and while Rochelle remained within striking distance after two quarters, Thompson said the team’s 22 turnovers as well as its stagnant offense prevented Rochelle from gaining any significant momentum.

“Third quarters have been a struggle for us offensively and I think first quarters have been also,” Thompson said. “Teams are getting out to big leads against us… We seem to beat the other team in the second quarter and we feel more comfortable in the game, but we’re stagnant coming out of the locker room. Rock Falls scored on a lot of our turnovers.”

Thompson said he was pleased with Green’s performance during Tuesday’s game after seeing his efforts improve during practice and in open gyms. He was also proud of how Gould stepped up and displayed toughness when guarding Rock Falls standout Cade Nailor, who had 15 points for the Rockets.

“It was really nice to see Isaac have a nice game,” Thompson said. “I think it’s always been about raising his level of confidence. He made a shot early in the game and I thought he played well throughout the game… Seth battled all night long. We had to put him in a tough spot guarding Cade. He was beat up after the game, but I think Seth will really become a productive player.”