5 Takeaways: Astronaut at Rockledge

Points were hard to come by on Tuesday night at Rockledge.

The home side Raiders slipped past a scrappy Astronaut group 47-42 in double overtime in front of a raucous sold out crowd.

Here are five takeaways from the matchup.

Speed and turnovers

Turnovers happen in games, that is inevitable. However, this game was plagued with a plethora of turnovers and bad passes. The speed and fast paced certainly led to that. I'm sure both programs will watch film and not be pleased with its play in transition. The guard play was sloppy at times between the two teams. As I said, the speed is certainly there but if you aren't smart with the ball, it won't matter.

Kario Oquendo is a superb athlete

The Rockledge fans chanted overrated time and time again on Tuesday night to 2020 6'6" guard Kario Oquendo. That didn't matter as he put up a game-high 25 points in a marvelous and gritty performance. Drawing a double team inside more often than not, Oquendo did all he could for his side. He had two highlight reel dunks in transition, made some corner 3's and put all his energy into this game. Oquendo scored 17 of his team's final 22 points spanning from the third quarter on.

2020 Astronaut G Kario Oquendo with the monster dunk on the break. @kario_oquendo @AstronautHoops @TeamParsonsCP25 pic.twitter.com/5dvTx1clUP

— ᴊᴀᴋᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴘᴇʀ (@JakePerper) December 12, 2018

DJ Richardson came up clutch

After going scoreless in the first quarter, 2019 6'1" guard DJ Richardson put up points in every quarter including both overtimes. The senior made important free throws for his side which included two apiece in the fourth quarter, first overtime and second overtime, going a perfect 6-of-6. Richardson has a nice burst about him and he can attack with the best of them. Fellow 2019 guard, TJ Jordan paced Richardson with nine points.

Astronaut must set the tone early

Outside of 2020 guards Javon Garvin and Kario Oquendo, Astronaut couldn't find much help offensively. That really lingered the rest of the night. The War Eagles have to spread the ball around and get points from the opening tip. Astronaut has the athletes in place (not that much size), but the speed and talent are there. I expect this to get better as long as the team creates in the early going of games.

Rockledge has size and strength

Four seniors, 6'2" guard OC Brothers, 6'4" forward Dorien Josey, 6'5" forward Ramsey Robinson and 6'9" center Steve Merritt provided the Raiders with endless energy and advantage down low. Josey, Brothers and Robinson were fighting on the boards on both ends. Josey impressed the most as a tough nosed forward who was tipping passes and getting his hands on nearly every rebound. Rockledge has a lot of power and size to work with.