7th Grade vs. Riverview — The seventh grade boys came out against Riverview Tuesday night and scored the first 5 points of the game, but that was it for the first half.  R-B went scoreless for almost 10 minutes to go in at half down 18-5.  The second half proved to be much better for the Rockets as they scored 16 in the third quarter alone.  Kevin Ulrich had ten and banked in a half court three at the buzzer to get the Rockets within 2, 23-21.  R-B kept the momentum in the fourth scoring thirteen while holding Riverview to just 4 points.  Jayson Kolb had nine in the fourth leaving the Rockets on top 34-26 for their first win of the season.  Drew Martin and Cameron Grandy each chipped in a bucket on the night.  Leading Scorers — Kolb 16, Ulrich 14.

8th Grade vs. Riverview –  The 8th grade started slowly against Riverview Tuesday night, but remained in control throughout the game.  The Rockets were patient on offense only committing  7 turnovers in the game.  Zach Meinhold and Dillon Hodel each had three assists to fuel the scoring for R-B.  Grant Hodel dished out two assists and had 7 points.  Matt West added 4 points and 7 boards for the Rockets, Ryan Fehr lead the way with 18 points and nine rebounds.  R-B wins their third straight beating Riverview 44-19.  Leading Scorers — R. Fehr 18, D. Hodel 8, G. Hodel 7, Meinhold 7.  The Rockets travel to Putnam County on Thursday night to open Little Tri-County Conference play.

A schoolwide pep assembly was held by the cheerleaders Tuesday afternoon to show support for the girls and boys basketball teams.  The cheerleaders presented a few cheers and then let both coaches speak about their teams.  The 7th grade girls are preparing for regionals  which start on the 19th of this month.  The 8th grade girls regional starts the following week.  The boys opened up vs. Normal Epiphany last tuesday night and had mixed success.

7th Grade vs. Epiphany — A tough game for the young seventh grade in their home opener.  Epiphany came out early with strong full court pressure which allowed them to jump out to a big lead.  Score at the half was 27-2, the lone 2 points coming on Jayson Kolb free throws.  The second half did not prove to be much better as the Rockets could only muster 10 points in the last two quarters.  A tough shooting night for R-B as they drop the opener at home 36-12.  Leading scorers — Ulrich 7, Kolb 4.

8th Grade vs. Epiphany — Added motivation was the key to this victory for the 8th grade.  Epiphany was the team that knocked the Rockets out of regionals last year.  Sparked by the hustle of Matt West on defense R-B jumped out to an early 16-11 lead.  Ryan Fehr led with 12 points in the first half.  Defense and rebounding proved to be the difference maker as Grant Hodel and Zach Meinhold combined for 10 steals on the night.  West and R. Fehr controlled the boards combining for 14.  D. Hodel and Z. Fehr defensively held Epiphany’s big men to only four points in the paint.  Leading Scorers — R. Fehr 19, Meinhold 7, G. Hodel 4, West 4.  The Rockets will be at home Monday vs. Eureka and Tuesday vs. Riverview.  They travel Thursday to Putnam County to open up conference play.

7th Grade vs. Eureka — The rockets came out gunning in the first half of Monday night vs. the Hornets.  Kevin Ulrich and Jayson Kolb combined for 11 of the 13 first half points, with Drew Martin chipping in a bucket.  Rockets went in at half down 19-13.  Ulrich kept the Rockets close with sharp outside shooting making all four of his 3-point attempts.  Sam Hodel went 2-3 from the field in the second half, but the R-B defense couldn’t keep Eureka down.  The Rockets fall at home to the Hornets 37-27.  Leading Scorers — Ulrich 16, Kolb 4, Hodel 4, D. Martin 3.

8th Grade vs. Eureka –  Last year the Rockets lost in overtime to Eureka at their place.   This game looked like it was headed in the same direction.  The Rockets jumped to a 12-3 lead in the first quarter.  Ryan Fehr tallied 10 in the quarter and G. Hodel dropped in a bucket.  R-B’s defense on the perimeter slowed in the second half which allowed Eureka to crawl back in the game.  By the end of the third quarter the Rockets only had a 1 point lead 25-24.  On the first offensive possession in the fourth Dillon Hodel hit a 15 footer to push the lead to 3.  Good free throw shooting proved to be the difference down the stretch as the rockets went 8-8 from the charity stripe.  8th grade boys win their second straight 35-32.  Leading Scorers — R. Fehr 21, D. Hodel 6, G. Hodel 5.

The Rockets opened their season this week in Metamora at the Redbird Invitational.  This is an annual tip-off tournament that includes Fieldcrest, Dee-Mack, Metamora, and your Roanoke -Benson Rockets.  This tournament is played in a round-robin format where each team has a chance to play each other.  The seventh grade plays first and the eighth follows.  The team that finishes with the best record after three games is the winner.  Trophies are awarded to first and second place.

GAME 1–Roanoke-Benson vs. Fieldcrest

The 7th grade boys started slowly falling behind 18-3 when the halftime buzzer sounded.  The Rockets defense, sparked by Mason Gerdes held the Knights to only two points in the third quarter.  Clayton Hartter and Kevin Ulrich each dropped in a shot to cut the lead to 20-7 by  the end of the third.  The fourth quarter brought an even better defensive effort by the Rockets holding Fieldcrest to just one free throw in the fourth.  Kevin Ulrich scored 8 points in the fourth and Mason Gerdes chipped in three, but the Rockets fell just short losing the opener 21-18.   Leading Scorers – Ulrich 18, Gerdes 3, Hartter 2.

The 8th grade came out and matched Fieldcrest shot for shot in the first half with the only difference coming at the free throw line.  Ryan Fehr had twelve points in the half and the Rockets went in at halftime down 20-17.  The third quarter proved to be the difference when Fieldcrest outscored the Rockets 16-6, all six points coming from Zach Meinhold in the quarter.  Austin Martin had five points in the fourth quarter, but the Knights won the game running away 48-31.  Leading Scorers — R. Fehr 13, Meinhold 8, Martin 6, D. Hodel 4.

Game 2 — Roanoke-Benson vs.  Dee-Mack

7th grade came out of the gates slow, managing only 5 points in the first quarter with Dee-Mack scoring ten.  Kevin Ulrich had six points in the second pulling the rockets within 4 at halftime with the score 15-11.  The defensive battle continued in the second half with a total of eight points being scored by each team.  R-B losing to Dee-Mack 23-19, while shooting 5-15 from the free throw line.  Leading scorers — Ulrich 18, Hodel 1.

Rockets 8th grade came out with a quick three pointer by Zach Meinhold, but only managed to score the one basket in the first.  Meinhold and Ryan Fehr combined for six points in the second leaving R-B down only 12-10 at halftime.  Led by Ryan Fehr’s 12 second half rebounds, the Rockets defense only gave up 7 points in the second half.  Matt West provided a good defensive spark in the third and chipped in with four points and seven rebounds.  Austin Martin provided the offense in the second half scoring seven points.  Ryan Fehr had 20 rebounds in the game and West cleaned up 7 for himself.    The Rockets get their first win of the season over Dee-Mack 30-19.  Leading Scorers — Meinhold 14, Martin 7, West 4.

Game 3 — Roanoke-Benson vs. Metamora

The final game of the tournament proved to be the toughest for the young 7th grade Rockets.  Playing host Metamora, R-B struggled offensively managing only nine points through the first three quarters.  The seventh grade finished 0-3 for the tournament.  Leading Scorers — Ulrich 9, Gerdes 2, Hartter 2.

Metamora came out gunning from the perimeter early to build a 10 point halftime lead over R-B.  The Rockets defense settled down and kept things close throughout the second half.  In the third, with 2 seconds left, Zach Meinhold launched a half courter that fell through the net to pull the Rockets within ten.  Early in the fourth, the Rockets had a few chances to cut the lead, but Metamora was too good from the free throw line eventually beating R-B 44-34.  The Rockets finished 1-2 for the tournament.  Leading Scorers — R. Fehr 19, D. Hodel 4, A. Martin 4, Meinhold 3, G. Hodel 3.

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