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Rockets beat Seneca, Barbs beat Elgin, Tigers beat Annawan and Bulldogs beat Joliet
at Rock Falls Firefighters Shootout
at Rock Falls Firefighters Shootout
Rock Falls, DeKalb, Byron, Batavia
win games at Shootout
win games at Shootout
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
ROCK FALLS (Jan. 9) – Eight varsity teams and four sophomore teams competed
at the 11th Annual Rock Falls Firefighers Shootout on Saturday. The host Rockets
put together a string of unanswered points in beating Seneca in the final game.
Batavia blew past Joliet in the final quarter of their game. DeKalb held off Elgin in
the final minutes, and Byron had no trouble with Annawan.
Rock Falls 50 – Seneca 31
Early January is considered the second part of the season for high school
basketball teams. For Rock Falls, this month is really the second season.
After going 8-5 during 2008, the Rockets feel like a new team with the return of
senior Tevin Rumley over the holiday break. In the third game for the team in
2009, they showed what they can be capable of doing during the rest of the
season. The Rockets turned a 7-2 deficit into 18 unanswered points in a 50-31 win
over the Seneca Fighting Irish.
The Fighting Irish (6-9) began the game on a high note by scoring the first basket
of the game, a three-pointer by Eric Adkins. A putback by Jonah Hoelscher and a
pair of free throws by Ben Bergeson made it a 7-2 game in favor of Seneca.
The deficit was enough to get Rock Falls (10-6) going on both sides of the ball.
Consecutive buckets by Brett Chappell, J.C. McNinch, Shay Brown and Dylan
Austin propelled the Rockets to an 11-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. The
defense did its part, too, forcing seven Irish turnovers. Two of which were steals
that led to buckets. Overall, Seneca had 22 turnovers in the game.
Having a run like that was good, considering not doing so well against a defensive
team like NCIC Lincoln foe IVC on Tuesday.
“We've had real good defense, except for the IVC game,” said Rock Falls coach
Mike Winters. “That's been a statement for us.”
Rumley's first points of the game, a dunk with 5:37 left in the first half, capped off
the 18-point run. He added a three-point shot later in the quarter, and the Rockets
led 25-11 at the end of the first half.
“Rumley was a huge factor,” said Seneca coach Russ Whitte. “He brought us some
matchup issues as far as his penetrating and kicking, I thought he did a
phenomenal job passing the ball.”
Seneca was able to cut the lead to seven points halfway into the third quarter by
outscoring the Rockets 10-3 four minutes into the third quarter. The Irish held the
Rockets to 11 points in the fourth quarter for 50 overall. Holding the Rocket
offense to a low amount of points was one of Seneca's goals for the game.
“We had a goal coming in to keep them under 45,” said Whitte. “To hold them to
50 and still had as many turnovers as we had, I thought bode well for us. We're a
very good defensive team, but we're a work in progress offensively.”
They held one of the Rockets' lead shooters, Jacob Junis, to just two points.
Rumley, on the other hand, gave Seneca fits not just by shooting, but elsewhere.
He had six assists, five rebounds and two steals in addition to his team-high nine
points off the bench.
“Right now we're getting beat by better players.” said Whitte. “I think we're the
better team in the end, and a lot of the games we've played we're getting beat by
better basketball players.”
Rock Falls had a balanced scoring effort, with six players scoring more than five.
Gordo Barron also scored nine points for the Rockets. Matt Lauts had eight points,
McNinch and Austin each had seven points, and Shay Brown had five.
“We had some guys that are good offensive players for us struggle this weekend,
but went 2-0,” said Winters. “Our depth is there. A couple of weeks ago we
wouldn't have survived that. We're eight deep, and hope to be nine deep next
weekend, and as a coach that's nice to have.”
Hoelscher led Seneca with 11 points. The Fighting Irish only attempted 22 shots
from the field, making just eight of them.
The Rock Falls sophomore team came back from a 35-34 deficit after three
quarters to win 53-43 over the Seneca sophomores. Keith Conklin and Steven
Armoska provided all of the Meteors' 19 points in the quarter. Conklin had 16
points, with 11 of them coming in the fourth. Armoska had 15 points, with eight
coming in the fourth quarter.
Batavia 48 – Joliet 44
Poor shooting and costly turnovers doomed Joliet in the fourth quarter, as Batavia
used a 11-2 run to outlast the Steelemen 48-44 in the Shootout's fifth game.
The game was close during the first half, but Joliet made an effort to step up its
defense in the third qaurter. Trailing by two entering the second half, the Steelmen
(13-4) didn't let the Bulldogs (11-4) get too far throughout the quarter, with just a
three-point lead with 5:00 left. After that the Steelmen regained a 38-37 lead after
a technical on Batavia coach Jim Roberts, and scored four more to end the quarter
on an eight-point run at 42-37, the last four points coming off two buckets from
Brian Byrd..
Joliet's momentum didn't last in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored five
straight to tie the game at 44-44 with less than two minutes remaining. A traveling
call on Anthony Shoemaker with 1:34 left turned the ball over to Batavia. Byrd
committed a foul on the following possession to make Elliot Vaugh go to the free-
throw line, where he made both shots to give his team a 46-44 lead.
A Shoemaker steal with 15 seconds left was followed by a missed shot, rebounded
by Batavia's Levi Maxey. It was followed by a Dauris Norris foul, sending Ricky
Clopton to the free-throw line where he made both shots.
“I thought there was a lot of heart showing against a very talented team,” said
Roberts. “There were a couple of times where our kids could have faded into the
woodwork, but they showed a lot of grit, and a lot of determination and character.”
Clopton had 15 points for the Bulldogs, while Vaugh chipped in 10. Shoemaker
was the only Steelman in double figures, scoring 13.
The Joliet West sophomores defeated Batavia 61-59. A close game was capped
off by a James Stuckey three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.
DeKalb 68 – Elgin 61
Illinois State recruit Jordan Threloff scored 22 points and Dylan Donnelly added 17
as the Barbs took a 68-61 decision from Elgin in the Shootout's fourth game.
The only thing holding off Threloff was foul trouble. The 6'10” center, who began
the game with his first of three dunks, was benched with two fouls with 2:25 left in
the first quarter. The Maroons (3-10) performed well after being down 9-2 late in
the first quarter, working to tie the game at 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, and
leading 13-12 with 5:35 left in the second, while pulling down six offensive
rebounds without the presence of the Barb center.
Once Threloff was back, things began going the Barbs' way. DeKalb (13-3)
outscored Elgin 17-6 in the rest of the half in leading 29-19. The ten-point lead
remained at the end of the third quarter, at 45-35. Elgin would not give up without
a fight, closing the gap to four points with 37 seconds remaining after a Matt
Andres putback and foul shot. While trying to foul, Elgin saw Barb guard Chris
Calbow make four of four three throws to wrap up the game.
Threloff also had 12 rebounds in the double-double effort, along with three blocks.
Barb coach Dave Rohlman was pleased at Pat Rourke's 10-point, six-assist
performance, and Donnely making four of six three-pointers.
“I thought he was our most consistent player tonight,” Rohlman said about Rourke.
“For Dylan to step up, I like when I see Pat put the ball in his hands and Dylan on
the wing shooting the ball. That's a good combination.”
The Maroons had a balanced scoring effort with Mike Richard leading the way with
13 points. Dennis Moore had 12 points, while Kory Brown had nine points and
eight rebounds.
“Threloff is a beast,” said Elgin coach Mike Sitter. “We prepared for him all week,
but you can't emulate a 6'10” guy in practice.
“Our kids played hard, and they competed from the opening tip and didn't give up
until the final buzzer. There were a couple of times where they were up by 12
points and our kids would have folded, but they kept scrapping back.”
Byron 71 – Annawan 42
The Annawan Braves, still reeling after a couple of suspensions during the
holidays, tried but wasn't able to pick up some momentum on their season. Byron
had a big second quarter and ran away with a 71-42 win in the Shootout's third
game.
The Tigers (10-3) opened the game with a 6-0 lead and didn't look back. They led
17-8 after the first quarter. But the Tigers really took off in the second quarter,
outscoring the Braves 21-2 in the final five minutes in the second quarter. Byron
scored 30 points in the quarter, and led 47-15 at halftime.
Sixteen of Adam Head's game-high 25 points came in the first half. He had eight of
Byron's 20 rebounds in the first half. Rebounding was an issue for Annawan,
having given up ten offensive boards while pulling down just 10 altogether in the
first half.
“I don't remember ever scoring 30 points in a quarter,” said Byron coach Jeff
Schmidt. “I thought we did a nice job attacking the basket tonight. We weren't
settling for jump shots early in possessions from the outside, and that made a big
difference.”
An attempt to force a running clock was cut short by the Braves late in the third
quarter. Byron led by 40 at 62-22 with 2:02 left, but Annawan scored the next four
to end the quarter.
Nathan Anderson scored 14 points for the Tigers. Connor Bernard scored 10
points and pulled down six rebounds. Justin Rosecke scored eight points and
dished out six assists.
Annawan was led by Sean Walker and Brent Lybarger's nine points. Lybarger
pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
“This is the seventh different starting lineup we've put on the court this year. They
came out with some real good energy originally, but Byron had a good game plan
heading into it. We just got flat in that half, and it just continued over.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
ROCK FALLS (Jan. 9) – Eight varsity teams and four sophomore teams competed
at the 11th Annual Rock Falls Firefighers Shootout on Saturday. The host Rockets
put together a string of unanswered points in beating Seneca in the final game.
Batavia blew past Joliet in the final quarter of their game. DeKalb held off Elgin in
the final minutes, and Byron had no trouble with Annawan.
Rock Falls 50 – Seneca 31
Early January is considered the second part of the season for high school
basketball teams. For Rock Falls, this month is really the second season.
After going 8-5 during 2008, the Rockets feel like a new team with the return of
senior Tevin Rumley over the holiday break. In the third game for the team in
2009, they showed what they can be capable of doing during the rest of the
season. The Rockets turned a 7-2 deficit into 18 unanswered points in a 50-31 win
over the Seneca Fighting Irish.
The Fighting Irish (6-9) began the game on a high note by scoring the first basket
of the game, a three-pointer by Eric Adkins. A putback by Jonah Hoelscher and a
pair of free throws by Ben Bergeson made it a 7-2 game in favor of Seneca.
The deficit was enough to get Rock Falls (10-6) going on both sides of the ball.
Consecutive buckets by Brett Chappell, J.C. McNinch, Shay Brown and Dylan
Austin propelled the Rockets to an 11-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. The
defense did its part, too, forcing seven Irish turnovers. Two of which were steals
that led to buckets. Overall, Seneca had 22 turnovers in the game.
Having a run like that was good, considering not doing so well against a defensive
team like NCIC Lincoln foe IVC on Tuesday.
“We've had real good defense, except for the IVC game,” said Rock Falls coach
Mike Winters. “That's been a statement for us.”
Rumley's first points of the game, a dunk with 5:37 left in the first half, capped off
the 18-point run. He added a three-point shot later in the quarter, and the Rockets
led 25-11 at the end of the first half.
“Rumley was a huge factor,” said Seneca coach Russ Whitte. “He brought us some
matchup issues as far as his penetrating and kicking, I thought he did a
phenomenal job passing the ball.”
Seneca was able to cut the lead to seven points halfway into the third quarter by
outscoring the Rockets 10-3 four minutes into the third quarter. The Irish held the
Rockets to 11 points in the fourth quarter for 50 overall. Holding the Rocket
offense to a low amount of points was one of Seneca's goals for the game.
“We had a goal coming in to keep them under 45,” said Whitte. “To hold them to
50 and still had as many turnovers as we had, I thought bode well for us. We're a
very good defensive team, but we're a work in progress offensively.”
They held one of the Rockets' lead shooters, Jacob Junis, to just two points.
Rumley, on the other hand, gave Seneca fits not just by shooting, but elsewhere.
He had six assists, five rebounds and two steals in addition to his team-high nine
points off the bench.
“Right now we're getting beat by better players.” said Whitte. “I think we're the
better team in the end, and a lot of the games we've played we're getting beat by
better basketball players.”
Rock Falls had a balanced scoring effort, with six players scoring more than five.
Gordo Barron also scored nine points for the Rockets. Matt Lauts had eight points,
McNinch and Austin each had seven points, and Shay Brown had five.
“We had some guys that are good offensive players for us struggle this weekend,
but went 2-0,” said Winters. “Our depth is there. A couple of weeks ago we
wouldn't have survived that. We're eight deep, and hope to be nine deep next
weekend, and as a coach that's nice to have.”
Hoelscher led Seneca with 11 points. The Fighting Irish only attempted 22 shots
from the field, making just eight of them.
The Rock Falls sophomore team came back from a 35-34 deficit after three
quarters to win 53-43 over the Seneca sophomores. Keith Conklin and Steven
Armoska provided all of the Meteors' 19 points in the quarter. Conklin had 16
points, with 11 of them coming in the fourth. Armoska had 15 points, with eight
coming in the fourth quarter.
Batavia 48 – Joliet 44
Poor shooting and costly turnovers doomed Joliet in the fourth quarter, as Batavia
used a 11-2 run to outlast the Steelemen 48-44 in the Shootout's fifth game.
The game was close during the first half, but Joliet made an effort to step up its
defense in the third qaurter. Trailing by two entering the second half, the Steelmen
(13-4) didn't let the Bulldogs (11-4) get too far throughout the quarter, with just a
three-point lead with 5:00 left. After that the Steelmen regained a 38-37 lead after
a technical on Batavia coach Jim Roberts, and scored four more to end the quarter
on an eight-point run at 42-37, the last four points coming off two buckets from
Brian Byrd..
Joliet's momentum didn't last in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs scored five
straight to tie the game at 44-44 with less than two minutes remaining. A traveling
call on Anthony Shoemaker with 1:34 left turned the ball over to Batavia. Byrd
committed a foul on the following possession to make Elliot Vaugh go to the free-
throw line, where he made both shots to give his team a 46-44 lead.
A Shoemaker steal with 15 seconds left was followed by a missed shot, rebounded
by Batavia's Levi Maxey. It was followed by a Dauris Norris foul, sending Ricky
Clopton to the free-throw line where he made both shots.
“I thought there was a lot of heart showing against a very talented team,” said
Roberts. “There were a couple of times where our kids could have faded into the
woodwork, but they showed a lot of grit, and a lot of determination and character.”
Clopton had 15 points for the Bulldogs, while Vaugh chipped in 10. Shoemaker
was the only Steelman in double figures, scoring 13.
The Joliet West sophomores defeated Batavia 61-59. A close game was capped
off by a James Stuckey three-pointer with 2.1 seconds left.
DeKalb 68 – Elgin 61
Illinois State recruit Jordan Threloff scored 22 points and Dylan Donnelly added 17
as the Barbs took a 68-61 decision from Elgin in the Shootout's fourth game.
The only thing holding off Threloff was foul trouble. The 6'10” center, who began
the game with his first of three dunks, was benched with two fouls with 2:25 left in
the first quarter. The Maroons (3-10) performed well after being down 9-2 late in
the first quarter, working to tie the game at 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, and
leading 13-12 with 5:35 left in the second, while pulling down six offensive
rebounds without the presence of the Barb center.
Once Threloff was back, things began going the Barbs' way. DeKalb (13-3)
outscored Elgin 17-6 in the rest of the half in leading 29-19. The ten-point lead
remained at the end of the third quarter, at 45-35. Elgin would not give up without
a fight, closing the gap to four points with 37 seconds remaining after a Matt
Andres putback and foul shot. While trying to foul, Elgin saw Barb guard Chris
Calbow make four of four three throws to wrap up the game.
Threloff also had 12 rebounds in the double-double effort, along with three blocks.
Barb coach Dave Rohlman was pleased at Pat Rourke's 10-point, six-assist
performance, and Donnely making four of six three-pointers.
“I thought he was our most consistent player tonight,” Rohlman said about Rourke.
“For Dylan to step up, I like when I see Pat put the ball in his hands and Dylan on
the wing shooting the ball. That's a good combination.”
The Maroons had a balanced scoring effort with Mike Richard leading the way with
13 points. Dennis Moore had 12 points, while Kory Brown had nine points and
eight rebounds.
“Threloff is a beast,” said Elgin coach Mike Sitter. “We prepared for him all week,
but you can't emulate a 6'10” guy in practice.
“Our kids played hard, and they competed from the opening tip and didn't give up
until the final buzzer. There were a couple of times where they were up by 12
points and our kids would have folded, but they kept scrapping back.”
Byron 71 – Annawan 42
The Annawan Braves, still reeling after a couple of suspensions during the
holidays, tried but wasn't able to pick up some momentum on their season. Byron
had a big second quarter and ran away with a 71-42 win in the Shootout's third
game.
The Tigers (10-3) opened the game with a 6-0 lead and didn't look back. They led
17-8 after the first quarter. But the Tigers really took off in the second quarter,
outscoring the Braves 21-2 in the final five minutes in the second quarter. Byron
scored 30 points in the quarter, and led 47-15 at halftime.
Sixteen of Adam Head's game-high 25 points came in the first half. He had eight of
Byron's 20 rebounds in the first half. Rebounding was an issue for Annawan,
having given up ten offensive boards while pulling down just 10 altogether in the
first half.
“I don't remember ever scoring 30 points in a quarter,” said Byron coach Jeff
Schmidt. “I thought we did a nice job attacking the basket tonight. We weren't
settling for jump shots early in possessions from the outside, and that made a big
difference.”
An attempt to force a running clock was cut short by the Braves late in the third
quarter. Byron led by 40 at 62-22 with 2:02 left, but Annawan scored the next four
to end the quarter.
Nathan Anderson scored 14 points for the Tigers. Connor Bernard scored 10
points and pulled down six rebounds. Justin Rosecke scored eight points and
dished out six assists.
Annawan was led by Sean Walker and Brent Lybarger's nine points. Lybarger
pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
“This is the seventh different starting lineup we've put on the court this year. They
came out with some real good energy originally, but Byron had a good game plan
heading into it. We just got flat in that half, and it just continued over.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns
about Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
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