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PLEASANT PLAINS — Kai Bruce’s hot start helped Rochester take an early lead, and the Rockets’ defense kept Staunton behind the rest of the night as Rochester beat Staunton 52-49 in the Class 2A Pleasant Plains Sectional semifinals on Wednesday.
Bruce hit his first three 3-pointers and four of his first five in the first quarter before finishing with a team-high 18 points for the Rockets. Bruce finished 6-for-12 from behind the 3-point line and was basking in the glow of the win afterward.
“I felt great, man,” Bruce said. “I mean, that's just regular business for the other guys, but I was having a night, and I guess I was just feeling it.”
Now, the only thing standing in the way of Rochester’s first sectional title since 2005 is Quincy Notre Dame. The two teams meet at 7 p.m. on Friday to determine who goes to the Class 2A Carbondale Supersectional on Monday.
More: Normal U-High sinks Springfield HS to reach boys hoops sectional final
Rochester (19-12) has won five straight games since a pair of heartbreaking losses on Feb. 13-14, two points to each Jacksonville (Friday, Feb. 13) and Teutopolis. Quincy Notre Dame (29-1) beat Roxana 59-47 on Tuesday in the other sectional semifinal.
Wednesday’s game had plenty of drama. Rochester got up by nine points twice in the first half and twice Staunton worked its way back to within a point. But when the quarter breaks came, Rochester found itself up seven points each time, partially thanks to its relentless full-court pressure defense. And thanks to Rochester coach Tony Gavin’s near hockey-style substitution patterns, the Rockets stayed fresh, especially compared to the six-player rotation Staunton employed.
“They pressed the whole 32 minutes, so it is kind of hard,” Staunton junior Isiah Laux said. “(The Rockets) always got energy, always ready, subbing three people at a time.”
Bruce, however, was impressed that Staunton had plenty left in the tank to make the Rockets sweat.
“They're a great team,” Bruce said of Staunton. “Honestly, it's impressive. We amp up the pressure probably every quarter because we're such a deep team, and they really handled it with probably six guys playing. I mean, that's impressive.”
Bryce Coalson, who scored a game-high 23 points, was fouled on a 3-point attempt early in the third and made all three foul-line attempts to get the Bulldogs (29-4) without 28-26, but Bruce sandwiched a Jeremiah Graham layup with two more 3s for a 34-28 lead.
“We all know he can do it,” Rochester’s Eli Cox said of Bruce. “He had some past struggles . . . and we knew one of these games he was going to be on fire, so this was the game and it helped us a lot.”
A Khordell Gregory 3-pointer gave Rochester a 39-30 lead after three quarters, the Rockets’ third nine-point lead.
More: Adam Abell stars in Routt boys basketball sectional semi win
The fourth period turned out to be a doozy.
Coalson made his first three triples of the period to get Staunton within 42-39 with 5 minutes, 59 seconds left. Khorbin Gregory connected on a jumper and Nate Swaney scored a layup following a Khordell Gregory steal as Rochester reclaimed a seven-point edge.
Luke Moore caught the Rochester defense napping by leaking out ahead of a full-court inbound pass, and Graham converted a Rochester turnover — one of just eight by the Rockets — into a layup to get the Bulldogs within 46-44.
That’s when former Staunton student and resident Eli Cox helped break the hearts of his former teammates. Cox, a Rochester junior, moved from Staunton in 2020. After the game, Cox sought out former teammates and his ex-Staunton coach. But during the game, he was a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side. With 2:22 to go, Cox’s layup put Rochester up 48-44. Later, he split a pair of free throws for a 51-47 lead with 27.7 seconds left.
“I played with all of the juniors that played (Lucas Dillon, Graham, Isiah Laux and Luke Moore), Cox said. “It was really fun getting to play against them, and they're like family to me, (but) that was kind of sad to knock them out.”
Graham scored a layup to get Staunton within 51-49 and Ty Laux called his final timeout with 13.2 seconds left. Staunton waited until Khorbin Gregory got the ball and fouled him with 7.4 on the clock. After missing his first free throw, he hit the second.
Staunton’s final possession ended without a shot as the Bulldogs struggled to get the ball in the hands of one of its 3-point shooters.
“I thought there at the end we kind of (lost) that lead pretty quickly, and I thought we could have kind of folded, and we didn't,” Gavin said. We handled the pressure there at the end and made enough free throws to hold them off.”
While this is the second year Staunton has lost in the sectional semifinals (after losing to Williamsville in the Greenville Sectional semis a year ago), coach Laux said this year’s team grew into a formidable bunch.
“Our guys, they compete,” Ty Laux said. “Every time they walk on the floor, they believe they're going to win and we really compete. (Rochester) went on a quick run early . . . and our guys last year at this time, we probably kind of faltered a little bit.
“That one year of just being in the weight room and being in the gym and these kids all year long, they've competed. When you do that at a high level, you put yourself in position to win and we had our chances tonight. We just could not quite get over that hump.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA boys basketball sectionals | Rochester beats Staunton to advance
Continue reading...
Bruce hit his first three 3-pointers and four of his first five in the first quarter before finishing with a team-high 18 points for the Rockets. Bruce finished 6-for-12 from behind the 3-point line and was basking in the glow of the win afterward.
“I felt great, man,” Bruce said. “I mean, that's just regular business for the other guys, but I was having a night, and I guess I was just feeling it.”
Now, the only thing standing in the way of Rochester’s first sectional title since 2005 is Quincy Notre Dame. The two teams meet at 7 p.m. on Friday to determine who goes to the Class 2A Carbondale Supersectional on Monday.
More: Normal U-High sinks Springfield HS to reach boys hoops sectional final
Rochester (19-12) has won five straight games since a pair of heartbreaking losses on Feb. 13-14, two points to each Jacksonville (Friday, Feb. 13) and Teutopolis. Quincy Notre Dame (29-1) beat Roxana 59-47 on Tuesday in the other sectional semifinal.
Wednesday’s game had plenty of drama. Rochester got up by nine points twice in the first half and twice Staunton worked its way back to within a point. But when the quarter breaks came, Rochester found itself up seven points each time, partially thanks to its relentless full-court pressure defense. And thanks to Rochester coach Tony Gavin’s near hockey-style substitution patterns, the Rockets stayed fresh, especially compared to the six-player rotation Staunton employed.
“They pressed the whole 32 minutes, so it is kind of hard,” Staunton junior Isiah Laux said. “(The Rockets) always got energy, always ready, subbing three people at a time.”
Bruce, however, was impressed that Staunton had plenty left in the tank to make the Rockets sweat.
“They're a great team,” Bruce said of Staunton. “Honestly, it's impressive. We amp up the pressure probably every quarter because we're such a deep team, and they really handled it with probably six guys playing. I mean, that's impressive.”
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Bryce Coalson, who scored a game-high 23 points, was fouled on a 3-point attempt early in the third and made all three foul-line attempts to get the Bulldogs (29-4) without 28-26, but Bruce sandwiched a Jeremiah Graham layup with two more 3s for a 34-28 lead.
“We all know he can do it,” Rochester’s Eli Cox said of Bruce. “He had some past struggles . . . and we knew one of these games he was going to be on fire, so this was the game and it helped us a lot.”
A Khordell Gregory 3-pointer gave Rochester a 39-30 lead after three quarters, the Rockets’ third nine-point lead.
More: Adam Abell stars in Routt boys basketball sectional semi win
The fourth period turned out to be a doozy.
Coalson made his first three triples of the period to get Staunton within 42-39 with 5 minutes, 59 seconds left. Khorbin Gregory connected on a jumper and Nate Swaney scored a layup following a Khordell Gregory steal as Rochester reclaimed a seven-point edge.
Luke Moore caught the Rochester defense napping by leaking out ahead of a full-court inbound pass, and Graham converted a Rochester turnover — one of just eight by the Rockets — into a layup to get the Bulldogs within 46-44.
That’s when former Staunton student and resident Eli Cox helped break the hearts of his former teammates. Cox, a Rochester junior, moved from Staunton in 2020. After the game, Cox sought out former teammates and his ex-Staunton coach. But during the game, he was a thorn in the Bulldogs’ side. With 2:22 to go, Cox’s layup put Rochester up 48-44. Later, he split a pair of free throws for a 51-47 lead with 27.7 seconds left.
“I played with all of the juniors that played (Lucas Dillon, Graham, Isiah Laux and Luke Moore), Cox said. “It was really fun getting to play against them, and they're like family to me, (but) that was kind of sad to knock them out.”
Graham scored a layup to get Staunton within 51-49 and Ty Laux called his final timeout with 13.2 seconds left. Staunton waited until Khorbin Gregory got the ball and fouled him with 7.4 on the clock. After missing his first free throw, he hit the second.
Staunton’s final possession ended without a shot as the Bulldogs struggled to get the ball in the hands of one of its 3-point shooters.
“I thought there at the end we kind of (lost) that lead pretty quickly, and I thought we could have kind of folded, and we didn't,” Gavin said. We handled the pressure there at the end and made enough free throws to hold them off.”
While this is the second year Staunton has lost in the sectional semifinals (after losing to Williamsville in the Greenville Sectional semis a year ago), coach Laux said this year’s team grew into a formidable bunch.
“Our guys, they compete,” Ty Laux said. “Every time they walk on the floor, they believe they're going to win and we really compete. (Rochester) went on a quick run early . . . and our guys last year at this time, we probably kind of faltered a little bit.
“That one year of just being in the weight room and being in the gym and these kids all year long, they've competed. When you do that at a high level, you put yourself in position to win and we had our chances tonight. We just could not quite get over that hump.”
Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: IHSA boys basketball sectionals | Rochester beats Staunton to advance
Continue reading...
