The Rocket’s basketball season is coming to an end. Following the Okawville Tournament, on January 27th and 28th, the Rockets played a pair of great games, defeating Chester at their place and Lebanon at home. Both games were very well deserved for the Rockets, as they played with great intensity. After those two wins, the Rockets hosted Freeburg on the 31st and Sparta on February 2nd. Okawville was unable to defeat Freeburg, the final score being 53-23. Against Sparta, the Okawville Rockets played a terrific game and were able to take down the Bulldogs, 60-57, in a close match. The next day, the Rockets took a trip to Waterloo to play the Gibault Hawks. The Hawks shot the ball very well and took down the Rockets, 63-37. A few days later, on the 7th, the Rockets hosted the New Athens Yellowjackets, and on the 10th, they hosted the Wesclin Warriors. Against New Athens, the Rockets won, 56-47, in a very intense matchup. Against Wesclin, the Rockets lost 50-40, despite competing very well. 

On Saturday, February 11th, the Rockets played the Nashville Hornets at home for their senior night. This year, 15 seniors were honored during the senior night ceremony. From the basketball team, Dillon Teter, Grant Schleifer, Andrew Savard, Hayden Shubert, Joe Jansen, and Kyle Schwab were recognized. From the cheerleading squad, Kirsten Sale and Alessandra Valesquez were recognized, and from the pep band, Paige Reichmann, Kristen Althoff, Gabriella Bosworth, Courtney Klasing, Maggie Boecklen, Savannah Borrenpohl, and Jared Juenger were honored. Kyle Schwab and Andrew Savard were also recognized as seniors of the pep band, along with being seniors of the basketball program. All seniors will truly be missed at OHS. 

Following the senior night ceremony, the Rocket-Hornet matchup was started. Out of the gates, both teams’ aggressiveness and competition levels were shown. After a very intense first quarter, the Rockets trailed the Hornets by only 2. Through the rest of the first half, the two teams continued to battle, but the Hornets slowly started creeping away with the lead. At halftime, the score was 24-18 with Nashville on top. Throughout the third quarter, the Hornets continued to run away with it, and by the start of the fourth quarter, they were leading the Rockets 33-24. The fourth quarter did no justice for the Rockets, and they ended up losing 43-24. 

A few days later, on Tuesday, February 14th, the Okawville Rockets traveled to Carlyle to play their last regular season game against the Indians. Earlier in the season, the Indians defeated the Rockets in the ORena, so the Rockets were looking to seek revenge. In a very intense first half, the Rockets led the Indians 21-12. Coming out of the locker room, the Rockets continued to break down the Indians. At one point in the third quarter, the Rockets led by as much as 14, but in the fourth, Carlyle started to make a comeback. With about two minutes left of regulation, the Indians took a 4-point lead. The Rockets kept their composure and were able to take back the lead with a bucket from Aidan Anderson and a three-pointer from Dillon Teter. The Indians tried to regain the lead, but the Rockets did not let them. The Rockets defeated the Indians 49-48. With this win, the Rockets ended their regular season with a record of 12-19.

After this matchup, the Rockets were looking forward to playing their first regional game, which was played on Saturday, February 18th.