12/29/09 - State Farm Classic - Peoria Christian
January 11, 2010
12/29/09 – Peoria Christian 53 Rock Falls 46
Rockets fall to Chargers at Bloomington Classic,
strong effort can not overcome cold shooting
By Bob Martin
Peoria Christian 13 5 18 17 53
Rock Falls 11 9 13 13 46
The hustle and determination was there, but the Rockets couldn’t buy a basket as they shot approximately 30% from the field and 9 for 17 from the foul line. To start the game everything possible went wrong for the Rockets as they fell behind 11-0 in the first 3 ½ minutes of the game but they fought back to ultimately take the lead by halftime. In the 2nd half Peoria Christian heated up and the Rockets just couldn’t keep pace.
Rock Falls (6-6, 1-1) had 3 players in double figures, led by Jake Junis with 15, Dylan Austin with 12, and Matt Lauts with 10 points. Junis led the team with 4 assists and Shay Brown with 3 steals. Also playing a strong game which didn’t necessarily show up statistically was Gordo Barron whose hustle plays repeatedly kept the Rockets in the game.
Peoria Christian (6-2) finished last season with a record of 26-3 and although they graduated all of last year’s starters remain undefeated in the Tournament. The Rockets last faced the Chargers in 2002 when Rock Falls was victorious, 69-61.
After falling behind by 11 points, Lauts got the Rockets on the board with a putback, followed by a 17’ jumper by Austin, a field goal by Peoria, and a 3 pointer by Junis (assist Brett Chappell) and the Rockets trailed 7-13 (2:32). Next Lauts laid it in (assist Barron) and Junis converted 2 free throws to reduce the deficit to 2 points at the end of the quarter.
Early in the 2nd quarter Junis scored on a drive to tie the game, but wait; with a questionable call, this was waived off and charging was assessed. Scoring alternated with Peoria maintaining a small lead until the Rockets scored the last 5 points of the stanza to go up 20-18 at half time. Lauts scored on a layup on a Junis inbound pass (this was the Rocket’s best play as Junis managed 3 such assists on inbound passes on the evening), a 17’ jumper by Austin (assist Junis), a Brown free throw, and a Brown fast break layup (assist Austin).
After cold shooting in the 1st half by both teams, things heated up in the 3rd quarter but Peoria got the best of this outscoring the Rockets 18-13. The Chargers nailed 3 long balls in the first 2 minutes of the stanza. Junis countered this with 1 long ball (assist Lauts) and a 17’ jumper (assist Austin). Also scoring for the Rockets were Austin on a drive, Junis a putback, Brown a putback, and Chappell with a 15’ jumper (assist Junis).
Peoriaopened the 4th quarter with a 6-1 run (34-42, 5:41) and the Rockets were guilty of 6 turnovers and could not keep up with the Chargers who poured in 17 points in the period.
Rocket Scorers:
Jake Junis 15
Dylan Austin 12
Matt Lauts 10
Shay Brown 5
Gordo Barron 2
Brett Chappell 2
Next Up:
Dec 30 at 11:00 am: Providence St. Mel’s at the Shirk Center
Dec 30: TBA
