Last Tuesday, Rockdale had a fight until the end with district rival Lexington, who prevailed in the final seconds, 64-62. The home loss comes five days after the Blue-and-Gold fell to Navasota, 71-43.
RHS looked like a completely dif ferent team against the Eagles and started off hot, due in large part to the 15 points from beyond the arc. This helped them lead 36-30 at halftime. A Tiger buzzer-beater at the close of the second quarter led to the home side erupting in cheer.
In the second half, the level of intensity was there for the Tigers but they became cold as Lexington began to heat up. The winner of the game was decided when Eagle senior Daylon Washington completed a three-point play. This put LHS up 63-62 with 7.5 seconds left. Hope for RHS all but faded when they turned the ball over on a pass during their next possession. Lexington hit another free throw with one second left in the game and held on to give Rockdale an 0-1 record in district.
Top performers for Rockdale were Chris Perez, Gerren Marrero, De’Andre Stephens, Ivan Bonner and Aiden Hirt.
Although the ending wasn’t in his team’s favor, Tiger head coach Sean Lexima was proud of his players and the level of improvement they have seen in such a short time period. “ The y ’r e getting better, I think everybody can see it,” Lexima said. “I’m going to continue pushing them to grow and I think we’re going to be fine. I truly feel like we’re going to be fine in district.”
“We have to make a couple of buckets when the shots are open and we have to make sure we make good passes,” he said. “We have to play good basketball.”
The Lufkin native also said that despite the disappointing ending, his team is making sure to immediately move forward.
“We’re worried about us,” he said. “We’re not worried about anybody else. We’re worried about how we do when we’re back in the gym, in practice, the Mumford tournament, how we’re improving, having incremental growth. That’s all I’m looking for.” THIS WEEK— The Tigers played in Mumford after press time but play next in Thorndale on Friday morning.
The Bulldogs got off to a slow start, going 2-4 through their first six games but have gone 7-1 since Dec. 6.
Tip-off between the two neighbors is at 10 a.m.
LADY TIGERS— With leading scorer Ciara Miles waiting for her sprained knee to heal on the sidelines, Rockdale struggled against Lexington last week, falling 53-20.
LHS was aggressive on both sides of the floor, leading 31-3 at halftime. The Blue-and-Gold improved in the second half as Lexington only outscored them 22-17. However, Rockdale would be handed it’s second district loss and a record of 1-2 going into Christmas break.
For first-year coach Danielle Froggatt, all her team can do is continue to build.
“Learn, grow and move on,” she said. “We’ll learn and grow in the Bastrop tournament. It will be good for us and we’ll get back at it.” MILES— For Miles, an RHS junior who injured her knee in the team’s second district game in Academy on Friday, Dec. 16, her timeline for return is still uncertain.
Last week, her father Charles told The Reporter that if the ligament in her knee was at least 50 percent healed by Christmas day, there was a good chance she would be cleared to partake in tournament play this week.
However, as of Tuesday afternoon, Miles says the family has not been able to get in touch of the doctor for an update.
THIS WEEK— The Lady Tigers played in the Bastrop tournament after press time this week, where they were scheduled to take on bigger schools such as host BHS and Austin’s LBJ High School.
They return to district action on Tuesday, Jan. 3 when they travel to McGregor.
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