ROCHELLE — Hosting an IHSA 3A Regional tournament for the first time in five seasons, the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team felt the full force of home-court advantage when the fifth-seeded Hubs battled the third-seeded Dixon Dukes on Wednesday for the right to face second-seeded Sterling for the regional title.

Entering the second half with a 33-26 lead, Rochelle opened the third quarter with a pair of turnovers that led to two Dixon layups and a timeout from the Hubs. With the team’s advantage trimmed down to two points midway through the third quarter, Rochelle turned the semifinal matchup on its head with a 9-0 run on three consecutive 3-pointers including two from senior Ryan Simmons, who led the Hubs with 28 points.

The scoring surge forced a Dixon timeout as the home fans from all areas erupted from the bleachers. It also stretched Rochelle’s lead into double figures for the first time all night. Despite a standout performance from Duke senior Jacob Gaither, who led all scorers with 32 points, Dixon was unable to reverse the third-quarter momentum generated by the Hubs, who emerged victorious 81-68. Rochelle (21-10, 11-3 Interstate 8) will face Sterling on Friday at 7 p.m. seeking its first regional championship since the 2008-09 season.

“We were ready for this game and we really wanted this win,” Simmons said. “We were rated really low in the regional bracket and we wanted to show everyone who we really are. Our third-quarter run gave us a ton of momentum and we could hear the crowd going crazy when each shot fell. We knew then that we wanted the win more. We’re playing with a lot of confidence and we want to get a regional for our coach.”

With both teams playing in their first regional contest in two seasons after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020-21 state series, the Hubs and Dukes worked through some early turnovers and missed shots in the first quarter. Simmons buried two triples in the first quarter including one from the right elbow in the last few seconds to give Rochelle the 14-13 lead entering the second quarter, where senior Noah Brown overcame some early nerves to sink two of his five 3-pointers Wednesday evening.

“There were definitely some nerves early in the game, but my coaches told me to take a deep breath and set my feet when I shoot the ball,” Brown said. “It’s a huge confidence booster for us to get this win, especially because we were rated so low in the regional bracket. We wanted payback for losing to them earlier this season and now we’re facing Sterling, which will be another payback game for us. I think the amount of shots we’ve put up in the gym throughout the season are definitely paying off for us.”

Rochelle limited Gaither to only 10 points on three field goals made in the first half on Wednesday, but the Dixon standout went full steam ahead in the third quarter, using his quickness of the dribble and his 6-foot-3 frame to drive inside for a trio of layups. Gaither’s aggressiveness also merited several foul calls on the Hubs, who allowed Dixon to enter the bonus with eight fouls when the third-quarter buzzer expired.

But the Dukes had no answers for the perimeter shooting of the Hubs, who saw Simmons and Brown each knock down two triples in the third quarter to preserve a 51-45 lead. After running several long offensive sets throughout the first three quarters, Dixon struggled to keep pace with Rochelle in the fourth quarter, where the Hubs closed out the regional semifinal victory with a 30-point scoring output capped off by a long-range 3-pointer in the final minutes from Brown, who finished with 17 points in the win.

Frustrated with a no-call on a 3-point attempt late in the fourth quarter, Gaither drew back-to-back technical fouls and was ejected from the contest, leading to four technical free throws for senior Adam Kemp, who sunk two to end the evening with 10 points and five free-throws made in the fourth quarter. Junior Raul Aguirre and senior Tanner Lager each scored 10 points to help lead the Rochelle offense in the victory.