BYRON — The Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team used its superior size and a balanced offensive attack to take down the Byron Tigers during a nonconference matchup on the road Tuesday evening.

Seven Rochelle athletes totaled at least five points including senior Noah Brown, who led the Hubs with 13 points and three 3-pointers made as Rochelle cruised over Byron 71-53. Junior forward Raul Aguirre was the team’s go-to scorer down low, finishing with 12 points on five low-post baskets and a pair of free throws.

“We’ve faced bigger teams this season, but we didn’t want to take this lightly because we have a tough schedule coming up,” Aguirre said. “I was able to get it going tonight and I felt their center playing on my back for basically the whole game. My guards did a great job of getting their bounce passes inside and coach [Jared] Johnson has been working with me on holding my position in the post and staying patient when I get the ball. They had a lot of smaller guards reaching for the ball, but I avoided turning it over.”

Brown drilled two triples to fuel the Rochelle offense in the first quarter, while sophomore Eli Luxton stepped up off the bench with a trio of aggressive drives to the hoop for all six of his points in the win. The Hubs (19-10, 10-3 Interstate 8) looked for Aguirre during the second quarter, where the 6-foot-4 forward backed down Byron’s interior defenders for a pair of low-post baskets. Rochelle led the Tigers 37-26 at halftime.

“We’ve been so successful over the last several weeks because we’ve really been playing for each other,” Aguirre said. “We knew we had a chance to win the conference title this season and we’ve been playing with a lot of confidence. We’ve assisting on a lot more of our shots and we’re playing team basketball.”

The Hubs continued growing their lead in the third quarter, where Rochelle held Byron’s Jordan Croegaert without a single point after Croegaert scored nine points on four field goals in the first half. The Hubs showcased their depth in the fourth quarter, with eight different players scoring points including senior Adam Kemp, who nailed his second 3-pointer of the evening to finish with 10 points. Senior Ryan Simmons recorded nine points and senior Cooper Hasz added eight points for the Hubs in the nonconference victory.

“We have to lock in over this final stretch and these last few weeks of practice are really important,” Aguirre said. “Our season’s almost over but we have to continue working hard in practice and focus on our goals.”