Basketball Recap: Rock Hills Takes Loss Despite Strong Performances from Eli Whelchel and Cooper Mcdill

Rock Hills was not able to break out of their rough patch on Friday as the team picked up their third straight defeat. They fell 78-67 to the St. John's/Tipton Catholic Blujays. The Grizzlies were not able to make up for their loss to the Blujays from their previous meeting back in January of 2024.

Cooper McDill and Eli Whelchel certainly did their best on Friday to avoid the loss. McDill dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Whelchel dropped a double-double on 15 points and 12 rebounds. Whelchel continues to improve, besting his previous point total in each of the last four games he's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Wirth, who posted six points.

Grizzlies

Offensive Rebounds

01/10/25 @ St. John's/Tipton Catholic	13
12/14/24 @ Stockton	11
12/13/24 vs Lakeside	10
01/03/25 vs Red Cloud	7
12/17/24 vs Logan/Palco	7

Even though they lost, Rock Hills smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive boards. That's the most offensive rebounds they've managed all season.

St. John's/Tipton Catholic's win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from Tyson Gates, who dropped a double-double on 16 points and 12 rebounds. The dominant performance gave Gates a new career-high in boards. Gabriel Roderick was another key player, going 8 of 19 on his way to 19 points.

Rock Hills now has a losing record at 3-4. As for St. John's/Tipton Catholic, they now have a winning record of 4-3.

Rock Hills wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 57-38 victory against Stockton on the 13th. After both having extra time off, St. John's/Tipton Catholic and Lincoln will dust off their jerseys to take on one another at 7:00 p.m. on January 27th.