Boys basketball: Rock Falls rolls on senior night, hands Rockford Christian first BNC loss

ROCK FALLS – In front of a packed Tabor Gym for Senior Night, Rock Falls delivered one of its highest-scoring efforts of the season. With a 54-point second half, the Rockets finished a resounding 88-70 Big Northern Conference win over Rockford Christian on Tuesday night.

[ Photos: Rock Falls vs Rockford Christian boys basketball ]

“My mentality was to win this game as a team,” said Rock Falls senior forward Devin Tanton-DeJesus, who totaled 19 points and 13 rebounds. “We knew they were undefeated in our conference, so we wanted to strike fear in them and just win.”

After taking a four-point lead into halftime, Rock Falls (17-7, 5-1 BNC) kept the momentum rolling with a 28-21 third-quarter surge.

Rock Falls junior guard Kuitim Heald scored 12 points, and junior guard Ryken Howard added eight in the high-scoring quarter.

Howard started a 10-2 run over the first 3:04 with an offensive rebound and kick-out to senior guard Gavin Sands for a right-corner 3 and a 37-30 lead with 6:57 remaining. Howard got to the rim only 22 seconds later, then Tanton-DeJesus completed a three-point play off a putback, Heald sank a layup, and senior guard Aydan Goff dropped in another putback to extend the lead to 46-32 – the largest of the game.

Heald hit two free throws with 0.9 seconds left to take a 62-51 lead into the fourth quarter.

“These past few games, we’re going on a streak right now. We’re going to keep going, passing the ball,” Heald said. “More passes, more open looks. That’s just how we’re going to go now.”

Rockford Christian (15-5, 5-1) rallied furiously in the final quarter, answering a fast-break layup by junior guard Austin Castaneda in the first 40 seconds with a 10-0 run. Senior JT Samuels drained a right-wing 3 to spark the surge, then junior Christian Cummings hit two free throws, sophomore Brody Carlson made a fast-break layup, junior Elijah Daugherty made a free throw, and Daniels went coast to coast off his own steal to pull within 64-61 with 5:41 remaining.

After another Carlson layup got the Royal Lions within 71-67, the Rockets went on a 17-3 run over the final 3:42. Tanton-DeJesus started it with a layup, then Sands nailed a left-corner 3, Heald hit a reverse layup, and Sands made a fast-break layup for an 80-67 lead with 2:33 remaining.

“We were playing together, staying as a team and playing defense. We brought the intensity, more energy to the game. We came back, we fought through,” Cummings said about the Royal Lions rally in the fourth quarter. “Then we kind of broke down a little bit. We didn’t come together as a team. The energy just wasn’t there toward the end. We tried to fight back, they’re just a tough team.”

Howard completed a three-point play, Tanton-DeJesus went coast to coast off a defensive rebound, and Sands hit another 3 to reach the 18-point margin with 29 seconds left.

Rock Falls fell behind by three points in the first quarter, but quickly turned the tide in the second.

Tanton-DeJesus scored the Rockets’ first six points in the second quarter on a putback, a fast-break layup and another layup to tie the game at 24 with a little over five minutes left.

“Just energy. He’s out there looking to kill,” Heald said about Tanton-DeJesus double-double effort. “He’s looking for points. He’s looking for rebounds. He’s there for us, a team player.”

A Howard fast-break layup made it 26-24 Rockets with 4:35 to go, and they never relinquished the lead.

“I think defense is key. Defense leads to offense, so boxing out is everything for me,” Tanton-DeJesus said. “That’s my role: to get rebounds, pass it out and run the court.”

Heald finished with 26 points, five rebounds and five assists; Tanton-DeJesus totaled 19 points and 13 rebounds; Howard supplied 16 points, four rebounds and three assists; Sands tallied 13 points and five rebounds; and Goff chipped in six points and eight rebounds. Castaneda added four points and five assists. The Rockets outrebounded the Royal Lions 42-20 in the game.

Cummings led the Royal Lions with 28 points and five rebounds, Daugherty contributed 17 points and three assists, and Samuels added 16 points and four rebounds.