A disastrous third quarter resulted in a lopsided loss during the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team’s Interstate 8 Conference finale against Kaneland on Friday evening.
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MAPLE PARK — A disastrous third quarter resulted in a lopsided loss during the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team’s Interstate 8 Conference finale against Kaneland on Friday evening.
Behind strong efforts from junior guard Cayden Moore and freshman forward Brody Bruns, the Hubs hung tough during the first half, entering the locker room at halftime with only a six-point deficit. Rochelle moved even closer after scoring the first two points of the third quarter, but an offensive outburst from the Knights quickly and effectively put the game out of reach. Kaneland outscored the Hubs 30-9 in the third quarter and handed Rochelle a tough 87-47 defeat.
“We were only down by four points early in the third quarter and we felt like maybe we could do something there,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “But then the floodgates opened. We had turnovers, we took bad shots and they were getting run-outs the other way. Every 3-pointer they took went in and all of our shots on the other end were either contested or blocked. We have to compete for 32 minutes and there wasn’t anything positive to say about the second half.”
Rochelle (10-19, 3-7 Interstate 8) sustained an explosive scoring performance from Kaneland guard Troyer Carlson, who drilled three first-quarter 3-pointers and led all players with 29 points. Although the Knights took the early lead behind Carlson’s strong start, the Hubs hung around with an efficient offensive effort of their own, as three players nailed triples in the first quarter.
Kaneland held a 27-19 lead entering the second quarter, where the 6-foot-5 forward Bruns sank his first 3-pointer of the game and added a pair of low-post baskets to keep Rochelle within striking distance of the Knights. Bruns finished with nine points while Moore, who laid home a pair of second-quarter baskets after six first-quarter points, finished with a team-high 10 points.
“I was really pleased in the first half,” Thompson said. “I thought our energy was there and I would have liked to push the pace a little more, but we went inside with aggressiveness and we made some more shots than we have in recent games… It’s not good enough to play 16 minutes and we have to play better basketball against really good teams because if we don’t, then we fall behind by 30. It’s not about the X’s and O’s, it’s about fundamental basketball.”
Kaneland’s third-quarter surge was fueled by a quartet of baskets from Carlson as well as 6-foot-6 forward Freddy Hassan, who ignited the crowd with a pair of two-handed slam dunks at the rim. Hassan finished with 18 points including nine third-quarter points for the Knights, who took a 70-43 lead into the fourth quarter, where a running clock quickly ended the game.
Junior guard Carson Lewis finished with nine points and made two 3-pointers for the Hubs, while junior guard Elijah Harley and sophomore guard Van Gerber each drained one 3-point shot in the loss. Harley finished with seven points and Gerber added five points in the game.
