ROCHELLE — Junior guard Carson Lewis set a goal to become a more versatile scorer for the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team this season. Lewis took a major step toward achieving his goal on Saturday, when he scored a team-high 29 points and made a team-high 11 shots as the purple and white battled into overtime against the Princeton Tigers in nonconference action.

Known for his 3-point shooting ability, Lewis drained five triples during Saturday’s game, but the junior guard also showed aggression off the dribble, converting six additional field goals while adding a pair of free throws. With Lewis fueling the offense, Rochelle battled back in the fourth quarter and dominated the overtime period, where the Hubs outscored the Tigers 15-7 and emerged with a 70-62 victory. Rochelle (3-7, 0-4 Interstate 8) has won two of its last three.

“We’ve been struggling over our last few games, but it felt really good to pull out a win,” Lewis said. “I wasn’t able to hit my first couple of shots in the first half, so I had to find other ways to score like getting out on the fast break. I started hitting shots after that and I built up my confidence. My teammates were getting me open and I was able to knock down shots. With this being my second year on varsity, I’m more of a leader and I have to be more than a shooter.”

Both teams started fast in the first quarter, where the Hubs held a 22-19 advantage behind strong efforts from multiple players including junior guard Elijah Harley, who finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting with three assists in the game. The Tigers clawed their way back into the game during the second quarter, where Princeton held Rochelle to nine points and took a 36-31 halftime lead. Jordan Reinhardt carried the load for Princeton, finishing with 20 points.

A defensive struggle in the third quarter saw both teams score just nine points each, allowing the Tigers to carry a 45-40 lead into the fourth quarter, where the Hubs fought back to tie the score at the end of regulation time. Rochelle excelled at pushing the pace, outsourcing the Tigers 18-7 in transition and 27-24 off turnovers. Senior Eli Luxton turned in a well-rounded performance with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks.

“I felt like we played more as a team over our last few games,” Lewis said. “I thought we were being selfish at the beginning of the year, but we’ve been passing the ball to each other and having confidence in each other.”

Freshman Brody Bruns recorded 10 points and six rebounds for the Hubs, who will host an Interstate 8 Conference game against the LaSalle-Peru Cavaliers on Tuesday evening.