Oregon holds off Rock Falls in BNC road win

ROCK FALLS — After building a 16-point lead, the Oregon boys basketball team needed to execute late to hold off a Rock Falls comeback.

The Hawks made it happen.

Rock Falls had the final shot at the buzzer, but it rolled off the rim as Oregon secured the Big Northern Conference win 55-53.

“We just made big impact plays down the stretch,” said Oregon coach Jarrett Reynolds. “You had Keaton [Salsbury], he took a charge, that changed momentum of the game. You had Tucker [O’Brien] grab that final free throw rebound.

“Just the big impact plays held them off.”

Oregon led 34-20 at halftime after a dominant 20-7 second quarter gave the Hawks all the momentum. But foul trouble disrupted it after Rock falls made it a two-point game after a 21-9 third-quarter swing.

Rock Falls 6-foot-8 center Cole Mulnix scored 10 of his 17 points in the third quarter to help get the Rockets back in the game.

Trailing 43-41 after three quarters, Kuitim Heald (18 points) tied the game at 43-all. The Rockets led 53-50 with 2:29 to play, but turnovers and missed shots turned out to be costly.

Rock Falls was called for a charge down 54-53 on their second to last possesion.

Girton missed a pair of free throws after Rock Falls was forced to foul, but O’Brien secured the offensive rebound with five seconds left for a key play in the win.

“That’s what we said we had to do if we’re going to beat Rock Falls. They’re a great team. We just have to buy those extra possessions if we were going to win,” Reynolds said. “Our guys took that to heart.”

O’Brien grabbed the clutch offensive rebound with four fouls as he dealt with foul trouble most of the game. Jackson Caposey also fouled out in the third quarter for Oregon.

Rock Falls was 9 of 15 at the line in the third quarter.

Cooper Johnson led Oregon (9-8, 2-0 BNC) with 15 points and Kade Girton had 11 points and nine rebounds in the win.

Nole Campos (eight points) and Benny Olalde (seven) were also big off the bench for Oregon.

“Rebounds and defense kind of closed it out for us,” Girton said. “And the bench getting hyped for us at the end kind of hyped us all up to get the win and get her done there at the end.”

Girton said staying calm and getting the ball to the guards was key in the win. Oregon had only seven turnovers to RF’s 14.

Oregon’s shooting also got hot in the second quarter as the Hawks hit four 3-pointers.

Rock Falls coach Zach Sandrock said mental toughness and shot selection weren’t where they need to be after the loss.

“Both of which I think we lacked in the first half, giving them a nice lead,” he said. “Oregon hit a lot of shots. Props to them.

“We lacked on some of our defensive rotations and defensive intensity and I think it came down to mental toughness and worrying about other things.”

Sandrock said Mulnix has been battling some illness after scoring 17 points off the bench in the last three quarters. He’s been getting back into playing shape in recent weeks according to Sandrock.

“We’ve been careful with him. ... That’s kind of been a worry of ours the last couple weeks,” he said. “We’re trying to give him little slots and see how he’s feeling each game. And tonight he was feeling a little bit better, he could breathe a little bit better and he got back to what he did early in the season. And [he] was that physical presence in the paint.”

For the Rockets, its defense is a big key for Sandrock.

“The game is going to go the way our defense goes,” he said. “And our defense tonight was not where it needed to be and it showed in that first half. ... But Oregon’s got to make the shots. They’ve got to make the right plays and the right passes. So props to the for doing what they did and knocking down the shots and making the easy plays and taking advantage of our mistakes.”

Girton said the bench staying engaged was also key in the BNC road win for Oregon.

“I think it’s the biggest thing, especially playing in a tough place like Rock Falls,” he said. “It gets us hyped that we’ve got people cheering for us. It kind of motivates us to get out here and dominate on the court.”

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Oregon’s Jackson Caposey puts up a shot against Rock Falls’ Nehemiah Menendez (left) and Rock Falls’ Christian Hernandez Friday, Jan. 10, 2025 at Rock Falls High School. (Alex T. Paschal)