Boys basketball takes on state ranked Allen Eagles on the road
January 18, 2023
On Jan. 17, our boys basketball team took on the Allen Eagles in Allen High School for its 6th district game. Coming into the game, the Blue Hawks were 3-2 in district and the Eagles were 5-0.
The first quarter got underway quickly in a very back and fourth manner. However as the buzzer sounded to end the first, the scoreboard read 15-11 in favor of the home side Allen. It was a very spaced out quarter for our boys with five different players tallying points but none scoring more than three points.
In the second quarter nearly three minutes in, the lead still stayed four points for the eagles 21-17. Until halfway through the quarter, Allen went on a big run outscoring our Blue Hawks 24-12, taking the game into the half 45-29. Cj Dennis was our leading scorer of the first half totalling nine points, three of which came from the charity stripe.
Starting off the third quarter Allen could not miss, immediately stretching their lead to 25, with the score two minutes into the second half being 57-32. Coach Williams quickly called a timeout to try and stop the momentum the Eagles had going coming out of the half. This timeout showed to be crucial in sparking a second half comeback for our boys. As for the final six minutes of the third, the Blue Hawks outscored the Eagles 13-4, ending the quarter off 61-45 with Allen still in control.
Rock Hill was not done fighting yet as the fourth quarter started, quickly cutting the Eagles lead down to 10 with six minutes left to play in the game. Unfortunately, right when everything appeared to be lining up for a comeback, Brian “Bj” Hooper recieved his fourth and fifth foul and had to finish the rest of the game on the bench. This shift slowed the run for the Blue Hawks but did not end it. As after three back to back to back three pointers from Sam Knight our Blue Hawks got the lead down to 7 with under a minute remaining. In the final minute, Allen played the foul game to perfection reaching the line three seperate times making four of five free throws to extend their lead back to 11 with under 20 seconds left. Chase Nelson was able to score two more quick points but it was too late to get the Blue Hawks back into the game. As the final buzzer rang the score read 73-64 in favor of Allen.
This win moved Allen up to 6-0 in districts and moved Rock Hill to 3-3. With Allen being ranked 12th in the state our Blue Hawks had an honorable performance battling back to get this game within 10 after being down 25 at one point in the second half. It was a great all around team performance as well with all five starters reaching double digit points. Hooper and Nelson lead the team both scoring 14pts, followed by Dennis with 13, Knight with 12, and rounding it off Riley Shore scoring 11. Rock Hill now prepares to face McKinney away this Friday and will see Allen again later in the season at home on Feb. 10.
