Boys Basketball: Second-half struggles hinder Hubs at DeKalb

Barbs outscore Rochelle 33-7 over final two quarters to win 69-37

Russell Hodges
Posted 2/12/19

A competitive first half turned into a nightmarish finish for the Rochelle varsity boys basketball team when the Hubs faced DeKalb on the road Wednesday evening.

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Boys Basketball: Second-half struggles hinder Hubs at DeKalb

Barbs outscore Rochelle 33-7 over final two quarters to win 69-37

Posted

DEKALB — A competitive first half turned into a nightmarish finish for the Rochelle varsity boys basketball team when the Hubs faced DeKalb on the road Wednesday evening.

Rochelle had an opportunity to take the lead during the final seconds of the second quarter, but a Hub turnover as time expired led to two points for the Barbs, who entered the locker room ahead 34-32. Poor offensive possessions crippled the Hubs in the second half, as the boys totaled nearly as many turnovers (14) as shots (20) while allowing DeKalb to outscore them 33-7 over the final two quarters of play. Rochelle lost 69-37 and dropped to 10-16 overall.

“We couldn’t get anything going on the offensive end,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “It was a struggle, and when the kids aren’t making shots within our offense, it can get discouraging for them. When we start to miss shots, we start pressing instead of staying within our offense, and the kids start thinking they need to do everything themselves.”

DeKalb opened a 22-15 lead to start the game behind Trenton Kyler and Michael Newman, who combined for 28 points for the Barbs on Wednesday. Rochelle rallied back in the second quarter, using its zone defense to limit scoring chances for the Barbs. The Hubs turned the ball over only three times over the first two quarters.

“We extended our zone and that made things difficult for them,” Thompson said. “We had them shooting shots from where we wanted them to be, and on the offensive end, we had Isaac [Green] and Garrett [Burdin] hit a couple of big 3-pointers… The kids did everything I asked them to do to stick in that game during the first half.”

DeKalb’s low-post pressure created problems for Rochelle senior Johnny Beck, who finished with 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. The Barbs blew out Rochelle in the third quarter, outscoring the Hubs 15-3 to take a commanding 49-35 lead before winning the fourth quarter 18-4.

“DeKalb guarded us hard in the first half but we were still able to get clean looks,” Thompson said.” We looked more leg-weary in the second half and we made some unforced turnovers… We hardly made anything, and I thought it was a really physical second half. Their athleticism got to us, and we just didn’t play a good second half.”

Sophomore Garrett Burdin finished as Rochelle’s leading scorer with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line. Senior Kaleb Ackland had seven points and nine rebounds, while senior Isaac Green totaled six points and junior Austin Brown facilitated the offense with six assists. Junior Landan Martin recorded five points, three rebounds and three assists.