Eagles soar higher than Falcons
WHITE LAKE — Rochester is one of the favorites in the OAA Blue Division this season. In the Falcons’ non-league games so far this season, Rochester has not played up to those expectations.
The cold-shooting Falcons shot under 35 percent Wednesday in a non-league boys basketball game against host White Lake Lakeland, and dropped a 54-50 decision to the Eagles.
“This was very disappointing,” said Rochester coach John Pleasant. “The past few years, we have struggled to score 50 points. In our first game against West Bloomfield, we lost in overtime, but we scored 73 points. We just shot the ball poorly in this game. We were already on Christmas break. We can play a whole lot better.”
Bill Klotz led Rochester with 15 points. Taylor Perry added 12 points, but was only 4-for-18 from the floor, while Paris Pereira added nine points.
Ryan Zukowski and Chuck Sanders both scored 12 points for Lakeland, while Nick Furry and Joey Rossi tossed in eight points apiece for the Eagles. Terry Wattles had seven points for Lakeland.
Lakeland led 11-8 after the first quarter, and Rochester closed to within two points (26-24) at the half with a 16-15 run in the second quarter. Lakeland forged ahead for a 38-29 advantage through three quarters.
Rochester was able to hold a 21-16 card in the fourth quarter, but the comeback came up short. Lakeland’s Sanders was a thorn in the Falcons’ side, scoring eight in the fourth quarter to help keep Rochester at bay.
“Their sophomore (Sanders) is a good player,” said Pleasant. “He was the difference in the fourth quarter. But I think the difference in the game was they just played harder. I think there was a (quarter) where there were 12 loose balls and they got to 10 of them. They just out-worked us.”
Category: Prep Wraps, Rochester
