MARENGO — Senior Eli Luxton led the charge on both ends of the court Saturday afternoon, when the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team tipped off the 73rd Annual E.C. Nichols Holiday Classic at Marengo High School with a first-round pool matchup against Richmond-Burton.

With Rochelle holding a comfortable halftime lead, Luxton entered attack mode over the third and fourth quarters, using his 6-foot-5 frame to drain a series of mid-range shots and a flurry of close-range shots around the basket. The senior guard scored 22 of his team-high 29 points in the second half, leading the Hubs over the Rockets 74-54 in their tournament opener. The Hubs (4-8, 0-5 Interstate 8) will return to the court against Rockford Christian on Wednesday morning.

“My teammates were making good passes and my coaches were running plays that I was able to score off of,” Luxton said. “I think we can go out there and win this tournament. Our season hasn’t gone very well so far, but I think that we can turn a corner and do great things.”

Both teams struggled to find their shooting rhythm during the first quarter, where the Hubs took a 14-9 lead behind a series of successful drives to the basket. Rochelle started to cook from the perimeter during the second quarter, with sophomore guard Van Gerber drilling a pair of triples while junior Carson Lewis and senior Jack Tracey each drained 3-point shots from the corner. 

As the Hubs gained confidence on offense, Rochelle stifled Richmond-Burton on defense, where the Hubs aggressively pressured the Rockets and forced multiple turnovers that led to extra possessions. Rochelle’s interior defense also shined, as Luxton and freshman forward Brody Bruns patrolled the painted area, blocking several shots and closing out possessions with defensive rebounds. As the first-half buzzer sounded, Rochelle commanded a 36-21 lead.

“Our game plan was to go out there and press them as hard as we could,” said Luxton, who sank a team-high 12 shots in the win. “We picked them up in the full court and we worked to turn them. I thought we did that really well and that led to a lot of turnovers and bad shots for them.”

Luxton took over on offense during the third quarter, where the 6-foot-5 senior was virtually unguardable down low. Using mid-range shots as well as floaters and his vertical leaping ability to his advantage, Luxton poured in nine second-half field goals for the Hubs, who led 53-38 entering the fourth quarter. Rochelle continued to control the paint in the fourth quarter, where Bruns put home two layups and junior Ryan Senne closed out the game with two more layups. 

Bruns finished with nine points on the Rochelle side, while Lewis scored all 13 of his points in the first half. Gerber and junior Elijah Harley each added seven points for the Hubs in the win.