Rockets dish Eagles 80-66 loss

(Sentinel photo by Roy Tucker) R-U's Jacob Fiedler shoots over an MMC defender in the Rockets' 80-66 win over the Eagles Monday night in Marcus. Fiedler netted 10 points in the win. [Click to enlarge]

The Remsen-Union boys came out strong and never looked back as they handed Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn an 80-66 loss on Monday night.

"I thought we had a good start," R-U coach Steve Neuberger said. "We jumped at them kind of early and set the tone. I was really happy with the way we came out of the gates."

Not only does the win boost the Rockets to 3-3 on the season, it also marks the second of the year against the Eagles. In a contest earlier this season, R-U defeated MMC 71-61.

A key force for the Eagles is senior Jordan Boekhout. In the previous match-up, Neuberger noted the senior scored 37 points. But Monday night, he thought his squad held the Eagles' star in check.

"We knew Jordan was going to get his points," Neuberger said of the Eagles' scoring leader, who netted a game-high 18 points in the loss. "We just have got to know where he's at on the court and do our best not to let him catch the ball in a spot where he can score. He still got 18 points but for the most part, we did a pretty decent job against him."

The key strength for the Rockets in the win was being able to look to multiple players for points.

With 16 points, Kraig Alesch led a list of six Rockets in double figures.

Tyler Van Dam added 14 points while Ryan Schroeder poured in 13. Jacob Fiedler, Jonathan Schreiner and Michael Ruba added 10 points apiece.

"Offensively we were moving the ball really well," Neuberger said. "We were making that extra pass all night long to get the ball to the open teammate. We had open looks tonight and did a good job hitting our shots."

On defense, Alesch led the Rockets with nine rebounds while Schreiner and Ruba each pulled down six.

The Rockets (3-3) have about a week of rest before returning to the gym for practice next week to prepare for their January 5 contest at Spalding Catholic.

"I feel like we're getting better each game," Neuberger said. "Obviously we'd like to go into Christmas break with better than a 3-3 record, but I feel like we're making little steps here and there and doing the little things better. I'm pleased with how we've played so far this season."