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Friday, March 14, 2003
Rock Island lost their chance to reach the "Sweet 16" in a game that fans who were in attendance will remember for years. The Rocks dominated the first half, building the 15 point halftime lead. After East Moline chipped away at the lead in the third quarter, Rocky was able to get it back to 15, settling for a 39-26 lead heading into the fourth quarter. East Moline began to heat up from the field as the Rocks became tentative with the Panthers actually taking the lead in the last minute. A Jeff Banks free throw tied the game with 15 seconds left, and there was a foul after Rocky rebounded the second shot. However, they missed both free throws, and East Moline missed a three at the buzzer. The Panthers built an early five point lead in the first extra session, but the Rocks battled back to force a second overtime. The second overtime was low scoring with Rocky not getting a shot after a forced jump ball with two seconds left. A Brandin Smith steal and desperation shot nearly banked in at the horn. Banks opened the final stanza with a trifecta, with East Moline cutting the lead to one at 65-64. With less than 1:30 remaining, a potential three point play was waved off on a questionable charging call. Not only was the basket waved off, but it was Sharp's fifth foul. The Panthers took advantage to get the lead back at 66-65. Two free throws following the rebound of at Rocky missed shot made the final 68-65. Banks paced the Rocks with 18 points. Sharp added 14 and Dail Rice contributed 13. Howard Davis chipped in 8 points to go with 8 rebounds. The Rocks end the season at 21 wins and 8 losses. |
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Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Rock Island vs. Sycamore at DeKalb Sectional
Rock Island advanced to the Sectional Final on Friday night with another hard-fought post-season win. The scrappy Spartans rode some hot shooting for most of the night in this back and forth contest. The Rocks built a 19-12 lead in the second quarter, only to have Sycamore score the final seven to knot the score at the half. Sam Johnson was the main gun for Rocky, scoring 13 first half points. Howard Davis brought a spark to Rocky in the second half after sitting most of the first sixteen minutes in foul trouble. He scored 18 of his team high 20 points in the second half. The game was tied at 47 before a free throw and a Justin Sharp lay-up put the Rocks up 50-47. They nailed 5 of 7 free throws down the stretch to seal the win. Davis, in addition to his 20 points, grabbed 8 rebounds. Johnson ended the night with 15 points and 7 boards. Brandin Smith had a good all-around game scoring 9 points, ripping down 10 rebounds, and getting 3 steals. Sharp, not at full strength in his return from mono, scored 5, dished out 4 assists, and got 2 steals. |
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Friday, March 7, 2003
Rock Island vs. LaSalle-Peru at Geneseo Regional
Rock Island claimed the Regional Championship with a hard-fought victory over LaSalle-Peru. The game was back and forth in the first quarter as Sam Johnson nailed two trifectas to spark the Rocks. In the second quarter, Rocky opened a 19-12 lead only to see L-P batlle back to 21-17 at the half. The game was hotly contested throughout the second half with both teams exchanging the momentum. With the Cavaliers up 42-38, Howard Davis hit a huge three pointer and then two free throws to give Rocky the lead. After two free throws by L-P with about 30 seconds left, Johnson's assist to Davis off of an offensive rebound gave the Rocks the lead. Brandin Smith made a huge defensive play to get the ball back for Rock Island. Jeff Banks was fouled on the inbound with just over six ticks on the clock. He made the first, missed the second, and a long shot at the buzzer was no good for the Cavaliers. Davis scored 12 points and grabbed 5 boards. Banks also reached double figures with 11 and added 6 rebounds from his guard position. Dail Rice (8 points, 6 rebounds), Smith (8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), and Johnson (7 points, 3 rebounds) all had solid efforts in the win. |
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Tuesday, March 4, 2003
The #1 seeded Rocks survived a huge scare from an inspired #13 Geneseo squad playing in front of the home crowd. Geneseo took the lead right from the start, and while Rock Island was able to tie the game a couple of times, the Maple Leafs controlled the tempo in the first half and took a 21-19 lead to the lockerroom. Playing without leading scorer Justin Sharp because of illness, the Rocks contined to struggle at the offensive end as the Leafs played good defense and executed in the half court to open the lead to eight points after three periods. A Richard Whitley trey cut the lead to three with close to five minutes remaining. They finally tied the score at 47 on a Howard Davis three pointer. The fourth quarter rally was fueled by nine points from Davis and seven from Dail Rice. After a missed free throw with 7.6 seconds remaining, a desperation three pointer missed off the front of the rim as the horn sounded. Davis led the Rocks with 14 points and Jeff Banks added 12. In the three point shootout, Whitley, Joel Lefkowitz, and Nick Davis all advanced to Friday. |
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Friday, February 28, 2003
Quincy at Rock Island
Rock Island could not wrap up a Western Big 6 title or an undefeated season at home on Senior Night. The loss dropped the Rocks to 7-3 and a tie for second (with Quincy), and also gave them a 10-1 home record this year, ending an 11 game home winning streak. Turnovers were the key to the game, as Rocky made 17 in the first half against the Blue Devils' pressure. Rocky trailed by as many as 14 in the second quarter before three treys from Howard Davis keyed a run into the halftime break, cutting the lead to 30-25. They continued the run into the third quarter, catching Quincy and leading on two occasions. The energy used in the comeback seemed to run out as Quincy converted some easy baskets from their half court offense while the Rocks missed some important opportunities in the final eight minutes. Davis knocked down 8 three pointers on his way to a career-high 31 points. Sam Johnson scored 12 points and grabbed 5 rebounds while Brandin Smith added 12 points, 7 boards, and 4 steals. |
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Tuesday, February 25, 2003
Rochelle at Rock Island
Rocky bounced back from the loss Friday night to claim the non-conference victory over Rochelle. The first sixteen minutes looked as though the Rocks were still feeling the effects of a tough loss, trailing the Hubs 29-23 at halftime. However, the Rocks responded once the deficit reached ten points, at 37-27 midway through the third quarter. They finished the quarter with a run to cut the lead to 41-38 heading into the final frame. They were able to keep the momentum and eventually grab the lead. From there, some defensive stops and converted lay-ups and free throws help seal a nine point win. Justin Sharp paced the Rocks with 13 points, while Jeff Banks and Dail Rice also reached double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively. Brandin Smith (7 points, 11 rebounds) and Howard Davis (8 points, 7 rebounds) also contributed solid efforts. Sharp also nabbed 4 steals. |
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Friday, February 21, 2003
Rock Island at Moline
Rock Island missed their opportunity to win the Western Big 6 title outright as Moline evened the season series between these two rivals in a game of runs for both teams, as each offense struggled to get things going during stretches throughout the game. The Rocks jumped out to an 8-2 lead, only to see the Maroons end the quarter on a 10-3 run and extend the lead to 16-11 in the second quarter. After Moline scored the first basket of the second half to lead 22-14, the Rocks went on a 16-0 run, building an eight point lead of its own at 30-22. After cutting the lead to 30-26 at the break, the Maroons scored the first seven of the final frame to take a 33-30 lead. The final run came with Moline leading 44-39 with about 2:00 remaining. After the Rocks couldn't capiltalize, Moline scored the final 12 points, mostly from the charity stripe, for the final margin. Sam Johnson paced Rocky with 10 points. Jeff Banks added 8 points. The Rocks were outrebounded, including giving up 12 offensive boards which was probably the key to the game. |
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Friday, February 14, 2003
Rock Island at Galesburg
Rock Island travelled through a snowstorm to gain this Western Big 6 Conference win over Galesburg. The first quarter produced some offense by both teams, tied at 20. Justin Sharp scored 10 first quarter points before sitting out the second with two fouls. The Rocks, spurred by two Richard Whitley trifectas, grabbed a 33-32 lead at the half. Rocky's defense took over in the third quarter, holding the Streaks to only four points and building the lead to 12 points heading into the final quarter. With Galesburg fouling trying to play catch up, the Rocks nailed 19 of 24 from the line to put the game away. Sharp scored 20, including 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Howard Davis, getting his first start in place of injured Sam Johnson, scored 15 points. Jeff Banks also reached double figures with 10, aided by a 7 of 8 effort from the line. Brandin Smith scored 8 and grabbed 7 rebounds. |
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Saturday, February 8, 2003
Chicago Crane vs. Rock Island at Batavia Night of Hoops
The Rocks faced a stiff challenge in taking on the Cougars, with a state ranking of #3 in the AP poll and #1 on at least two other polls. After falling behind 9-3 to start the game, the Rocks battled back trailing by three at the quarter. Rock Island continued to go toe to toe with Crane in the second quarter as Howard Davis and Justin Sharp got hot from the perimeter. Crane withstood every charge the Rocks could muster finally building the lead to ten at 56-46 early in the fourth quarter. A mini four point run brought Rock Island within 56-50 with a chance to get closer. However, they couldn't get the big shot to fall, and Crane put the game away in the last four minutes. Davis led the way with 19 points off the bench, including five treys. Sharp and Brandin Smith pitched in 13 points. Smith and Dail Rice grabbed 9 and 7 boards respectively. |
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Friday, February 7, 2003
East Moline (United Township) at Rock Island
Rock Island defended its home court in a key Western Big 6 game against the Panthers, who handed the Rocks their only conference loss back in December. After a back and forth first quarter ended in an 18-18 tie behind 10 points from Jeff Banks, the second quarter slowed down. UT went to the break with a three point lead. After falling behind by seven points early in the third quarter, the Rocks started their run. They took a 41-38 lead heading into the fourth and scored the first 10 points of the final frame to gain a 51-38 lead. From there, Rocky was able to hold on for the 57-51 win. The Rocks once again were paced with a balanced attack. Banks and Justin Sharp each scored 11 while Sam Johnson and Dail Rice each added 10 points. Brandin Smith grabbed 9 rebounds. |
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Saturday, February 1, 2002
Rock Island extended its longest winning streak so far with a sixth straight win. The win over the Rams was the first for the Rocks in the third year of this event. Rocky attacked Manual's pressure defense with excellent passing to put 25 points up in the first quarter. The Rams battled back in the second quarter, getting to within six points just before the half. Rocky settled back into their offense to put 22 points on the board in the third period to pull away for the win. Sam Johnson paced the Rocky attack with 19 points with Howard Davis (17) and Justin Sharp (14) each reaching double figures. Brandin Smith had a good overall game with 8 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, and took 3 charges. |
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Friday, January 31, 2003
The Rocks got a scare from the Pioneers in the second Big 6 contest between these two teams. Rock Island forged a 31-17 lead late in the first half before Alleman closed it to ten points at the intermission. During the third quarter, the Pioneers were able to get into the "Bonus" and made free throws to chip away at the Rocks' lead. They cut it to four on the first play of the final frame, and took their second lead of the game with less than 1:30 to go. A perfectly executed back door play gave Rocky the lead back before two Alleman free throws put the Rocks behind again in the final minute. Howard Davis rebounded his own miss and put it back in for the lead. The Rocks got the stops they needed and hung on for the win. Justin Sharp paced a balanced attack with 14 points while Sam Johnson scored 13, including 3 three pointers. Davis and Brandin Smith added 12 points, with Smith posting a double-double with 10 rebounds. |
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Friday, January 24, 2003
Rock Island picked a good night to have one of its best shooting games of the season, facing Quincy's zone defense. The Rocks came out firing from the outside, nailing 9 of 15 from three point range in the first half in jumping out to the double digit half time lead. Jeff Banks, Sam Johnson, Justin Sharp, and Howard Davis all hit trifectas in the first sixteen minutes. The Blue Devils showed why winning at Quincy is not easy as they stormed back into the game by scoring the first ten points of the second half, cuttting the lead to two. Rocky held off the the Devils until the first possession of the final frame, when a three pointer tied the game at 46. Rock Island showed composure and scored the next nine points, and hit their free throws down the stretch for the big road win. Davis came off the bench to hit 5 treys on his way to a game-high 22 points. Sharp added 20 points, including 9 of 10 from the free throw line, and he also dished out 6 assists. |
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Saturday, January 18, 2003
Rock Island did not get the start they were hoping for after a big conference win the night before. The Titans jumped out on Rocky 10-0 to start the game before a Sam Johnson dunk put the Rocks on the scoreboard. After cutting the lead to 10-7 after one quarter, the Rocks took control in the second building a nine point lead. Back to back three pointers from Andrew Tarnow and Johnson on the first two possessions of the second half boosted the lead to 15. Rocky held a comfortable lead the remainder of the way for the non-conference win. Johnson led the way with 14 points while Brandin Smith posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 boards. |
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Friday, January 17, 2003
Rock Island jumped into a tie atop the Western Big 6 (4-1) with the visiting Maroons after breaking their 21 game conference winning streak. Rocky rode some hot shooting from Justin Sharp (4 three pointers) and an excellent defensive effort to post the home win in front of approximately 5000 fans. The Rocks built an 18-8 lead to start the second quarter, but Moline responded to cut it to 18-14. Rocky ended the half strong to get a seven point halftime lead. After holding the Maroons to single digits for the third straight quarter, the Rocks extended the lead to 40-24 after the third. A huge block by Howard Davis and a Sam Johnson dunk sparked the crowd as the lead grew to 49-25 with about 3:00 remaining. Sharp put up 14 points to lead the way, but Rock Island also got 11 points from Dail Rice off the bench while Brandin Smith (9 points) and Johnson (8 points) also chipped in. Sharp also had 5 steals. |
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Saturday, January 11, 2003
In the final game of the Freeport Shootout, the host Pretzels, minus their leading scorer, jumped out to a 19-11 lead on the Rocks after the first quarter. However, Rock Island used a strong defensive effort and some hot shooting to spur a 27-6 advantage in the second period for a 38-25 lead at the half. The third quarter became sloppy as both teams turned the ball over and missed numerous shots, but the Rocks were able to maintain a double digit lead and settled in to extend the lead in the fourth for the seventeen point win. Howard Davis became the eighth player to lead the Rocks in scoring this year, coming off the bench to score 16 points. Justin Sharp added 15 points while Dail Rice contributed 12 points and 7 boards off the bench. |
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Saturday, January 4, 2003
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Monday, December 30, 2002
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Saturday, December 28, 2002
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Friday, December 27, 2002
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Thursday, December 26, 2002
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Saturday, December 21, 2002
Rock Island won this "border battle" to head into the Christmas break with a 7 - 1 overall record. The contest was back and forth for most of the first half, with the Rocks looking to make a run on a numbor of occasions. The grabbed momentum late in the first half, and put an excamation point on the run with a 70 foot bank shot from Jeff Banks at the first half buzzer. Rocky then continued to pull away from the Falcons in the third quarter, gettting the lead over the 20 point mark before settling for the 14 point win. Banks and Joel Lefkowitz led a balanced attack with 10 points apiece. Andrew Tarnow, Dail Rice, and Brandin Smith all contributed 9 points, with Smith grabbing 7 boards. |
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Friday, December 23, 2002
The Rocks bounced back from their first loss of the season to get the Western Big 6 home victory over the Silver Streaks. Offensively, the Rocks seemed to have some lasting affects from the loss, but the defense stepped up the pressure to disrupt the Galesburg offense. Rocky built the half time lead with their defense, but the offense began to click in the second half, with the lead building to 20 points with about two minutes remaining. Dail Rice had his second consecutive double - double with 13 points and 15 rebounds. Justin Sharp was the leading scorer with 21 points and also added 5 steals. Jeff Banks scored 10 to go along with 4 steals and 3 assists. Sam Johnson added 9 points and 8 rebounds, while Brandin Smith also grabbed 8 boards. |
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Friday, December 13, 2002
Rock Island lost its first game of the season in this road Western BIg 6 battle. The contest was not a pretty afair by any means, with a number of foul calls keeping the action from getting any flow. The Rocks were down 5 to 10 points much of the first three quarters. They were able to mount a few runs, usually to see it halted by a turnover or missed free throw. Rocky ended the game 5 - 18 from the free throw line. They were also outrebounded 35 - 27 for the game. The Panthers iced the game from the line, hitting 24 of 31 for the game. Dail Rice paced the scoring with 16 points, while Sam Johnson was the only other Rock in double figures with 12 points. Rice capped off a double - double with 11 rebounds. |
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Saturday, December 7th
Geneseo at Rock Island
The Rocks showed some toughness in their ability to win a game where they didn't play as well as they did in their first four games. Down 15-6 at one point, Jeff Banks lit a fire in the Rocks with four treys in the second quarter, the last one beating the horn for a 23-22 lead at the half. As they did Friday night, the Rocks showed some stifling defense for a quarter, limiting the Leafs to four points in the third quarter while extending the lead to nine points. Geneseo cut the lead to five at one point in the fourth, but the Rocks responded by converting a big lay-up by Dail Rice and knocking down free throws down the stretch. Banks' 15 points paced the Rocks, and Rice contributed 13 points and 8 rebounds. Banks also came away with 5 steals and 3 assists. Brandin Smith added 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. Andrew Tarnow had 7 points and 4 boards. Sam Johnson tied Rice for honors with 8 rebounds, to go along with 4 steals. |
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Friday, December 6th
Rock Island vs. Alleman (at Wharton Fieldhouse)
Rock Island won their Western Big 6 opener with some good shooting and a strong effort defensively, especially during a second quarter run. The Rocks jumped out early behind seven points from Sam Johnson. After getting his second foul early on, Johnson went to the bench for the remainder of the half. The score was tied 13-13 after the first quarter, and the Pioneers took a 15-13 lead to start the quarter. However, the Rocks responded behind 10 points in the quarter from Joel Lefkowitz to go on a 22-2 run to lead 35-17 at the half. Rocky was able to sustain the effort in the second half to keep Alleman at bay, cruising to the easy win. Johnson, Lefkowitz, Jeff Banks, Justin Sharp, and Andrew Tarnow combined to hit 9 three pointers on the night. Johnson led the way with 14 points, while Sharp (12) and Lefkowitz (10) each reached double figures. Tarnow added 9 points, and Dail Rice chipped in with 8. Brandin Smith grabbed 7 boards. |
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Saturday, November 30th
Rock Island/Milan Booster Club Thanksgiving Classic
Rock Island won its Thanksgiving Tournament with the win over the Challengers. Both teams entered the contest with 2-0 records in the round-robin tournament format. Carver controlled most of the first half with some pressure defense and timely three point shooting, leading 17-11 after the first quarter and 22-20 at the half. The Rocks responded well in the second half to put together a strong 3rd quarter, leading 37-32 heading to the fourth. Adding a 14-0 run in the fourth quarter helped put the game away down the stretch. All-Tournament selection Justin Sharp paced RI with 17 points. Tournament MVP Brandin Smith added 12 points and 7 boards. Rocky also got 9 points from Dail Rice and 8 points from Andrew Tarnow. Joel Lefkowitz was also named All-Tournament. |
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Friday, November 29th
Rock Island/Milan Booster Thanksgiving Classic
The Rocks made Saturday night's game versus Carver a game for the outright championship by going to 2-0 with the win over Dunber. Rocky got off to another good start, and eventually leading by 17 just before the half. However, the Mighty Men scored the last four points to cut the lead to 13 and grab some momentum for the second half. After seeing the lead dwindle to four, the Rocks repsonded to start the fourth quarter, aided by 7 points in the fourth quarter from reserve guard Derrick Partman, to put the game away. Once again the Rocks' balanced scoring was a key to the victory paced by Dail Rice (13), Sam Johnson (10), Justin Sharp (10), Terry Evans (8), and Brandin Smith (8). Joel Lefkowitz added six points to go along with a team-leading 7 rebounds. |
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Wednesday, November 27th
Rock Island/Milan Booster Club Thanksgiving Classic
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