Many good things happened for second year coach Marcus McNeil’s young Tiger squad during the first half of their game in Lexington, but a red hot Eagle offense took over in the second half, taking down the Blue-and-Gold 81-60.
“We had a gameplan and we had a couple of great days of practice and during the (first half) we were executing what we did in practice,” McNeil said after the game. “In the second half, we came out and switched up our defense and we didn’t make the adjustments.
“Ultimately, it’s my fault as the coach and I tell the kids that when we lose I take responsibility but at the same they have to do whatever I say in terms of the play calling.”
Rockdale took early initiative with an 11-1 lead halfway through the opening quarter. The Tigers stayed on guard as the Eagles fired back with a 12-5 run to make it 16-13 at the close of the first.
RHS regained momentum thanks to threes from leading scorer Braden Thomas and crucial drives from senior Raymond McBride. The scoring spree led to Rockdale leading 41-29 at halftime.
However, Lexington was on fire and outscored the Tigers 28-8 in the third to take a 57-49 lead before winning 81-60 giv-ing Rockdale their third district loss.
Thomas had 19, McBride had 15 and sophomore Chris Perez had nine and classmate Colton Bradshaw ended the evening with seven.
Despite the disappointment, McNeil was positive about the Tigers second quarter performance.
“What you saw was potential,” he said. “And that’s where my hope comes from.
“I just hope they don’t get their heads too down after this because I’m hopeful.”
THIS PAST WEEK— The Blue-and-Gold faced Caldwell at home after press time, falling 49-47 to the Hornets.
Thomas led with 14 while Robert Owens had 10.
COMING UP—T h e Tigers have what is likely their biggest challenge of district on Friday when they face undefeated Little River-Academy.
The Bees have plowed through District 19-3A competition with an 82-31 win over Lexington, an 82-55 victory over Caldwell on the road and a 53-25 over Florence last Friday.
They also played in one non-district contest last Tuesday, losing 77-74 to La Vega, the 20th-ranked team in Class 4A.
Both teams face off at Tiger Gymnasium starting at 7:30 p.m.
From the beginning of Friday night’s game, the Lady Tigers struggled against tall and experienced Lexington, a team with one district loss, losing 57-26.
Going up against Shelby Ray, a 6’2” force that committed to Long Beach State in November, Rockdale was short on size without sophomore post Julie Bartsch.
“You have (Julie’s) defense and you have her buckets that she’s going to get,” said RHS coach Meredith Caffey. “We were intimidated by their size so it would’ve made a difference if we had her.”
Fellow post Karli Marburger played but is dealing with a hip injury and a shoulder that was popped during their game with Rogers three days prior.
The game was close early as Lexington hit a couple of threes to take a 9-3 at the end of the first quarter.
LHS took over in the second with a 20-0 run in the first five minutes of the quarter. They eventually led 33-7 at halftime.
Although the second half was closer, RHS couldn’t make up for Lexington’s second quarter burst, getting their fourth district loss 57-26.
D’Erika Hurd was the leading scored with eight while Mijah Crawford and Miah Beckwith had six apiece.
Despite being falling to 1-4 in district play, Caffey says her team still has hopes for the post-season.
“We sort of started talking tonight about how this wasn’t the game we had to win to stay viable for a playoff run,” she said on Friday. “We want to win the games we’re supposed to win.”
The Lady Tigers haven’t made the post-season since 2016 when they lost to Teague 63-47 in bi-district.
“We want to get to the post-season because we haven’t done that in a few years and that’s what we’ve been focused on,” she said. “Win the ones we have to win so we can get to that point.”
COMING UP—Like this past Friday, the Lady Tigers are up against another challenging opponent when they face Academy.
The Lady Bees are undefeated in district with their closest game being when they beat Lexington at home 44-43 on Tuesday, Dec. 22.
RHS fell to Academy on the road 54-22 in their district opener Tuesday, Dec. 15.
“Our biggest deal was that we were just really nervous,” she said. “We couldn’t get it going and shots didn’t fall.
“We really need to have a better offensive presence (this time).”
The girls lost to Caldwell at home after press time 47-38.
Tip-off for Friday’s game is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
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