Defensive issues continued to mount for the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team on Tuesday, when the purple and white found themselves behind early and unable to come back as the Sterling Golden Warriors nearly reached the century mark on the scoreboard.
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ROCHELLE — Defensive issues continued to mount for the Rochelle Hub varsity basketball team on Tuesday, when the purple and white found themselves behind early and unable to come back as the Sterling Golden Warriors nearly reached the century mark on the scoreboard.
Despite drilling eight 3-pointers in the opening half, the Hubs couldn’t contain a potent Sterling offense, which thrived on transition scoring, outlet passes and 3-point shooting during Tuesday’s 94-66 win over Rochelle. It’s the fourth time over the last six games that the Hubs (10-17, 3-5 Interstate 8) have allowed 90 or more points in a game. Senior guard Eli Luxton led Rochelle with 14 points, while junior guard Carson Lewis added 12 points on four 3-pointers made.
“I think there’s a little confusion in that we have young players and they aren’t sure of what our defensive rotations should be,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “We asked our kids flat out in the locker room if it’s because of a lack of effort or because they don’t understand the rotations or there’s maybe some of both… We have to stop the first straight line drive and if they get to that straight line drive, we have to make sure we help. We’re doing better at helping, but we’re not helping the helper and we’re not rotating down. That’s what happened to us right now.”
Sterling forward Lucas Austin and guard Andre Klaver spearheaded the charge for the Golden Warriors early in the game, with the 6-foot-5 forward Austin working easily inside while Klaver successfully knifed through the Rochelle defense for layups at the rim. Klaver led all players with 25 points and Austin followed with 23 points for the Golden Warriors, who scored 28 points in the first quarter and held a commanding 51-35 lead over the Hubs at the halftime buzzer.
A barrage of 3-point shots helped the Hubs remain competitive during the second quarter, as Lewis buried a trio of triples while senior guard Austin Raleigh knocked down a pair of triples off the bench. Rochelle also received first-half 3-pointers from junior guard Cayden Moore, who finished with 12 points on Tuesday, and sophomore guard Van Gerber, who totaled nine points.
“We definitely value the 3-point shot in this program,” Thompson said. “I felt that was the only thing that Sterling gave up tonight. They’re good defensively in the one-on-one setting and we didn’t have anybody who could go by them, so the kids felt more comfortable playing out by the 3-point line. I was discouraged with our ability to cut and push the tempo, so that’s where a lot of our 3-point shots came from. Fortunately, we made them, but it was kind of by default.”
Sterling ballooned its lead to nearly 30 points during the third quarter, where Klaver dominated with six made field goals on the offensive end, with five of them coming at the rim. The Hubs will look to snap their two-game losing streak when they face LaSalle-Peru on the road Friday night.
