Basketball Recap: Rocky River Falls Despite Big Games from Jordan Walton and Jayden Ross

Rocky River lost against Independence back in January and unfortunately they wound up with the same result on Tuesday. The Rocky River Ravens lost 71-49 to the Independence Patriots. While losing is never fun, the Ravens can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' North Carolina basketball rankings (they are ranked 218th, while the Patriots are ranked 32nd).

Jordan Walton

Steals

02/11/25 vs Independence	3
02/07/25 vs Providence	5
02/04/25 @ Butler	5

Rocky River's loss came despite strong showings from Jayden Ross and Jordan Walton. Ross posted 19 points along with five boards and four steals, while Walton earned 13 points and three steals. Walton is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed three or more in the last three games he's played.

Independence got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Kaleb Jasper out in front who went 6 for 14 to rack up 21 points in addition to five rebounds and four steals. That's the most steals Jasper has posted since back in January of 2024. Lusemo Macharia was another key player, going 5 of 9 en route to 12 points along with eight boards and four blocks.

This is the second loss in a row for Rocky River and nudges their season record down to 9-13. As for Independence, they have been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five matches, which provided a nice bump to their 18-5 record this season.

Both squads are looking forward to the support of their home crowds in their upcoming games. Rocky River and West Mecklenburg will face off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday without much rest having both just played. Rocky River is facing West Mecklenburg at the right time seeing as West Mecklenburg is stuck on a 22-game losing streak. As for Independence, they will challenge Butler at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Independence knows how to get points on the board -- the team has finished with 55 points or more in their past five games -- so hopefully Butler likes a good challenge.