Story by Kadin Rogers
The Monmouth-Roseville Titans boys basketball team returned to the floor on Tuesday night for a rematch of a game from mid January against TRAC-West rival Rockridge. Before the game, the Titans senior basketball players were recognized for their contributions to the program. As for the game itself, the Titans would battle back for a better performance in the second half, but a 26 point advantage for the Rockets would be ultimately too much to overcome in a loss for Monmouth-Roseville.
Rockridge got out early on the Titans in the first quarter, playing suffocating defense and limiting M-R to just five points by way of senior guard Ethan Clark. Ultimately, Monmouth-Roseville would score just nine points in the first half, as the Rockets built a 33-9 lead heading into the break, with 16 of those points coming from senior forward Landon Bull. Bull continued his scoring success against the Titans, as he had 35 points in the previous game between the two teams. After a struggle in the first half however, Monmouth-Roseville found their fight, outscoring Rockridge in the third quarter and at one point being the Rockets lead down to just 15. Payton Thompson and Ethan Clark led the way offensively, while down low on defense Nick Huston kept the Rockets from doing too much more damage in the paint.
Unfortunately for the Titans, this would be the closest they would get to catching back up with Rockridge, as they put the finishing touches on late for a 55-34 win, their 19th win of the season. In the final stat sheet for Monmouth-Roseville, seniors Ethan Clark and Payton Thompson led the way scoring with 14 and 6 points respectively. The loss for the Titans will drop their overall record to 11-18, and they will have one more regular season contest against the Macomb Bombers at home on Friday night before beginning IHSA regional play on Monday.
For the replay of the WMOI radio broadcast of the game, go to the SPORTS PODCAST section.
