Rockets Fall Short of Regional Championship

Coming off a 12-19 regular season, the Rockets headed into regionals with a very optimistic attitude. Last year’s upsetting first-round loss gave the team a source of motivation to advance as far as they could. 

For their first game of regionals, the Rockets played Trico at home. Having the home-court advantage, the Rockets started with a great deal of intensity. The Pioneers were able to match Okawville’s playing style, which made it a very competitive first half. Going into the locker rooms, the score was 27-24. For the Rockets, the third quarter was where they were able to pull away. By the end of the third, Okawville was on top 34-24. The Pioneers looked to answer back and take the lead, but they were unable to. The Rockets took down the Pioneers, 59-50. Dillon Teter was the Rockets’ leading scorer with 15. Joe Jansen and Aiden Anderson both contributed 14, Grant Schleifer threw in 9, and Hayden Shubert chipped in 7. Dillon Teter achieved an impressive 7 assists in the matchup. Joe Jansen and Aidan Anderson had a combined 22 rebounds, Joe with 12 and Aidan with 10. With this win, the Rockets were set to play Marissa at New Athens for their second game of regionals. 

On Wednesday, February 22nd, the Rockets faced off against the Meteors of Marissa. Right out of the gate, Okawville was hot. After a very fast-paced first quarter, Okawville led 13-7. Okawville continued to pull away throughout the rest of the half, and by halftime, the Rockets were up 29-12. To start the second half, the Rockets continued to hold on to their comfortable lead. Although Okawville was in complete control of the first half, in the third and fourth quarters, the Meteors outscored Rockets 18-16 and 22-18. Although Marissa made a great effort in the second half, it was not enough and the Rockets secured the victory, the final score being 63-52. The Rockets were then set to play Wayne City for the regional championship. Aidan Anderson was the leading scorer for the Rockets, with 19. Other scorers were Dillon Teter with 15, Hayden Shubert and Grant Schliefer with 8, Joe Jansen with 8, Landen Shubert with 3, and Andrew Savard with 1. 

On Friday, February 24th, a few days after their win against Marissa, the Rockets competed for the hardware against the Indians. Both teams fought very hard to start the game; neither team wanted their season to end. During the first half, the Indians seemed to have most of the momentum, but the Rockets held on. Going into the locker rooms, the score was 25-19. The Rockets started the third quarter hoping to take the momentum, but they were unable to do so. Wayne City started pulling away, and Okawville slowly started holding on less and less. Unfortunately, the Rockets couldn’t make a comeback and lost 52-42. The Wayne City Indians were crowned regional champions. 

Although they did not advance as far as they wanted to, the Rockets left it all on the floor. Their aggressiveness and style of play improved tremendously throughout the year, and they have a great deal to be proud of.