Game Recap & Key Points: Pecatonica vs Rockford Christian

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Summary </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>PECATONICA, IL (ILLINOIS PREP HOOPS) - One of the small school games I had the opportunity of covering tonight was between the NUIC West Conference Champions Pecatonica Indians and the Rockford Christian Royal Lions who are currently sitting a top the Big Northern Conference. Both programs are very well rounded and balanced to make deep post season runs in their respective classes. Pecatonica came in still as top dog in 1A and RC rounded out the top 25 for the last week of regular season play. I thought the backcourt of Rockford Christian's <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/elijah-daugherty/">Eli</a><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/elijah-daugherty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">jah Daugherty</a></strong> and [player_tooltip player_id='1553123' first='Christian' last='Cummings'] playing against Pecatonica's [player_tooltip player_id='1874685' first='Brody' last='Black'], [player_tooltip player_id='1874696' first='Cooper' last='Hoffman'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1874742' first='Jaxon' last='Diedrich'] would make for an extremely fun and fast paced game to witness; especially at a 1A/2A level. Not to mention the length and quick play of both team's front court in Pecatonica's Zion Braimah and Jordan Gassman vs RC's Chase Longley and Brody Carlson. The Royal Lions however were unfortunately without future 2A all stater [player_tooltip player_id='1553123' first='Christian' last='Cummings'] being sidelined and the Indians took advantage early and never looked back. After the 1^st quarter, Pecatonica jumped out to a 27-15 lead looking like they were well on their way to triple digits. The second quarter deemed no differently for Pec's fast paced play and at halftime led 50-29. RC had only lost 4 games coming into tonight so they competitively still kept the margin at 20 heading into the 4th with the score at 64-48. Coach Johnson cleared his bench with about 6 minutes to go and Coach Heisler respectively did the same. After reserves finished out the game, Pecatonica added another mark to their win column in an 85-57 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Pecatonica's Unselfish Play</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's tough to come around a 1A school in Northwest Illinois over the past decade or even arguably two decades that can move the ball as quickly and efficiently as Pec does. Their starting 5 can handle, share, and shoot which makes their flow tough to guard on the defensive end for teams. Tonight I had wing [player_tooltip player_id='1874742' first='Jaxon' last='Diedrich'] down for 7 assists while the rest of the starters pitched in 2 – 4 assists each respectively. When a&nbsp;unit is sharing the sugar with that type of ball movement, it's no wonder why opponents find them tough to guard.<br><br><strong>Fast and Up Tempo</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams came into tonight averaging in the mid 70's for points per game. Most would think this game very well could touch the 150 mark in combined point total. While RC was missing one of the fast guards in the region [player_tooltip player_id='1553123' first='Christian' last='Cummings'], they still managed to put nearly 60 points up. If you add in what Cummings usually provides on a nightly basis, that gives RC close to 80 and it would of made the tempo of the game that much faster as well. The Lions' [player_tooltip player_id='2319792' first='Elijah' last='Daugherty'] had to have the ball in his hands most of the night and did a nice job of trying to keep the pace of play as much at a neutral level as possible. In the first quarter alone however, Pec was not only shooting efficiently but they were doing it in a very quick manner. Their style of play is obviously a joy to witness and is one of a multitude of reasons they will make a deep push at state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The 5th Starter</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's been a pleasure covering the Indians in a handful of games during the 2^nd half of the 2024-2025 season and one guy not talked about much is their Sr 6'2 4 man Jordan Gassman. As a longer wing/post he can create a presence down low that really helps in times of need. He got his hands on some shots and made a few tips and deflections tonight that were unexpected. Offensively he also helped give the team a spark. I had him down for a quiet 16 points which were evenly distributed inside and out. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->