Luke Robinson, Richmond-Burton finish off Woodstock North

RICHMOND – Defending at the back of Richmond-Burton‘s 1-2-2 zone gives Luke Robinson few opportunities to dunk when the Rockets run in transition.

The 6-foot-4 junior had an opportunity to slam against Woodstock North in the third quarter of a tightly contested game Tuesday night.

He missed.

So after Robinson dribbled out the clock, passing up an uncontested layup (or dunk) as R-B completed a 60-45 win in the two teams’ first Kishwaukee River Conference game of 2025, he went ahead and flushed a two-handed slam.

“I’ve tried two dunks this season, and I’ve missed both of them,” Robinson said. “I just had to make sure at the end [of the game] that I had it. Sometimes I’m like, ‘I don’t even know if I can dunk anymore.‘ ”

Yes, Robinson can dunk. And, yes, he can do more than dunk. His 19 points and 11 rebounds against Woodstock North gave him his first double-double of the season.

And R-B (10-3, 3-1 KRC) needed the effort that Robinson provided against a Thunder team that came in with just one win. Woodstock North (1-9, 1-3) trailed only 39-36 with less than a minute left in the third quarter.

“I do see some positives,” said senior guard Colin Brodzik, who led the Thunder with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. “I saw a lot of effort on the defensive end tonight – I feel like that’s where we’ve lacked a lot – and offensively we have more scorers now. Everyone’s not shy to shoot the ball.”

R-B showed off a more confident shooter of its own in Gavin Radmer. The sophomore point guard scored a game-high 20 points, making two 3s as part of a 14-point effort in the first half. His play has improved in recent weeks.

“The first four or five games it was a little bit of nerves and struggles, but we knew what he was capable of,” Rockets coach Rich Petska said of his first-year starter. “We sat down and had a good conversation with captains and told him that he’s here for a reason and we believe in him. His season has turned around from that point.”

Robinson started asserting himself more after missing his first four shots, including three 3s. He didn’t score his first basket, which came on a drive, until there was 5:25 left in the first half.

“First quarter I was just playing rough, turning the ball, making stupid mistakes, but my teammates kept bringing me up,” Robinson said. “It’s easy to get going when your team’s behind you like that.”

Robinson’s layup with 58 seconds left in the third quarter stretched R-B’s lead to 39-36, and Jace Nelson (seven points, three blocks) beat the buzzer with a turn-around 3-pointer to give the Rockets a 42-36 lead heading into the fourth.

“That got us that momentum we needed,” Petska said. “Everything was a struggle tonight. Kudos to [Woodstock North]. They played really hard and disrupted what we wanted to do. But these guys stepped up and showed a lot of grit tonight getting through that adversity.”

Ryan Wisniewski added nine points for R-B, which outscored North 18-9 in the fourth. The Rockets went 10 of 10 from the foul line in the final quarter (11 of 11 for the game). Robinson went 4 of 4, while Wisniewski, Radmer and Ben Roberts each made a pair of free throws.

“Luke really carried the team there in the second half, really took control of the ball, scored the ball,” Thunder coach Josh Jandron said of Robinson, whose dish to Radmer in transition hiked R-B’s lead to 50-38 with five minutes left in the game. “We just have to defend. We made a lot of shots tonight, though.”

Ethan Richardson, Anthony Bigler and Spencer McDonald (two 3s) each had six points for North. Brodzik, a captain, was coming off a 14-point game against Crystal Lake Central at Marengo.

“I think he’s really starting to read defenses, especially those zones,” Jandron said. “He’s starting to do a good job of just being a good basketball player, getting back to the roots of, ‘hey, just play, take what’s in front of you.‘ He’s starting to play relaxed and starting to understand that this is his team.”