Rockwell has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They will challenge the Merit Preparatory Academy Knights at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. Rockwell has been dominant on offense recently, as they've racked up an incredible 989 points over their last 13 matchups.
Rockwell pushed their score all the way to 55 on Friday, but even that wasn't enough to win. They ended up on the wrong side of a tough 75-55 walloping at the hands of American Prep WV. Rockwell has struggled against the Eagles recently, as their matchup on Friday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Roman Haueter, who scored 18 points along with seven rebounds and six assists. He hasn't dropped below 16 points for six straight games. Kaysen Rife was another key contributor, scoring 22 points along with two steals.
Meanwhile, you can't lose the contest if you win every quarter, and that was precisely Merit Preparatory Academy's strategy against the Thunderbirds on Thursday. Merit Preparatory Academy put the hurt on the Thunderbirds with a sharp 73-53 victory. The victory was just what Merit Preparatory Academy needed coming off of a 96-50 defeat in their prior matchup.
Allan Mendonca continued his habit of posting crazy stat lines, scoring 20 points along with seven rebounds and two blocks. Another player making a difference was Cruz Steinman, who scored 15 points.
Rockwell's loss ended an eight-game streak of wins at home and dropped them to 16-6. As for Merit Preparatory Academy, they are on a roll lately: they've won three of their last four contests, which provided a nice bump to their 7-13 record this season.
Wednesday's match is shaping up to be a masterclass in shooting: Rockwell have been dynamite from deep this season, having nailed 39% of their threes per game. However, it's not like Merit Preparatory Academy struggles in that department as they've made 45.1% of their threes this season. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
Everything came up roses for Rockwell against the Knights when the teams last played on Wednesday as the squad secured a 96-50 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Mendonca, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Rockwell still be able to contain Mendonca? There's only one way to find out.
