The Rockwood Rockets will head out on the road to challenge the Salisbury Elk Lick Elks at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Rockwood is still on the hunt for that elusive first 'W'.
Rockwood suffered their biggest defeat yet this season on Thursday. They were dealt a 76-32 loss at the hands of North Star. While losing is never fun, Rockwood can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania basketball rankings (they are ranked 740th, while North Star is ranked 225th).
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Isaac Adams, who scored eight points along with five rebounds. The team also got some help courtesy of Zander Ritenour, who scored eight points along with eight rebounds and five assists.
Rockwood struggled to get the ball back on offense and finished the game with only four offensive rebounds. They were crushed by their opponents in that department as North Star pulled down 15 offensive rebounds.
Even though Salisbury Elk Lick has not done well against Turkeyfoot Valley Area recently (they were 1-8 in their previous nine matchups), they didn't let the past get in their way on Friday. Salisbury Elk Lick skirted past Turkeyfoot Valley Area 54-52. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win Salisbury Elk Lick has posted yet this season.
Lance Jones continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 28 points along with six rebounds and four steals. He is on a roll when it comes to steals, as he's now grabbed two or more in the last three games he's played. Another player making a difference was Walker Bunnell, who scored nine points along with 15 rebounds.
Rockwood's loss was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season, which bumped their record down to 0-10. As for Salisbury Elk Lick, they are on a roll lately: they've won six of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 9-5 record this season.
Tuesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy matchup: Rockwood have been smashing the glass this season, having only averaged 16.8 rebounds per game. It's a different story for Salisbury Elk Lick, though, as they've been averaging only 31.9 rebounds per game. Given Rockwood's sizeable advantage in that area, Salisbury Elk Lick will need to find a way to close that gap.
Rockwood was dealt a bruising 67-38 defeat at the hands of Salisbury Elk Lick when the teams last played back in December of 2023. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of Jones, who scored 27 points along with seven rebounds and four steals. Now that Rockwood knows the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? There's only one way to find out.
