~by Dustin Teays for The Scranton Journal
The Paton-Churdan Rockets boys’ basketball team had a tough week against their opponents last week.
The boys faced the same slate of teams as the girls this last week, and their results were the same: they fell to Boyer Valley Jan. 14 by a score of 53-45, and then fell Jan. 17 to Glidden-Ralston 67-38. The losses dropped the Rockets to 5-7 overall in their first 12 games, but this record is a vast improvement over last season, where they won just one game. Against Boyer Valley, the game really came down to two quarters of the basketball game. The Rockets were outscored in the opening quarter 12-7 and were outscored in the final frame 15-12, which provided the eight points the Rockets lost by. Turnovers were an issue in this game, as the Rockets had 23, limiting their offensive opportunities in a tight game.
Trevon Keely continues to grow in his sophomore year as he netted a double-double with a team-high 18 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Kinnick Steimel was second on the team in scoring with 11 points, and Bryce Stephenson was second on the team in rebounds with six.
Their last game of the week was against the Glidden-Ralston Wildcats, where they fell by a score of 67-38. Two Rockets scored in double figures as Phoenix Hartman led the way with 14 points, and Trevon Keely was just behind him with 12 of his own. Bryce Stephenson was the team’s leading rebounder with eight boards, and Keely was second on the team with seven.
The Rockets struggled with turnovers again as they had 17, but they also struggled from the free throw line as they shot just 6-for-20 from the charity stripe which was just 30 percent.
This year has been much improved so far for the Rockets as they’ve already won the most games they have since the 2019-20 season, and they have multiple players near the top of the conference in multiple statistical categories. Among those players are Trevon Keely, Bryce Stephenson and Cayden Stream.
This week, the Rockets were expected to face the Ar-We-Va Rockets on Tuesday. The Paton-Churdan boys will then close out their week against the Coon Rapids-Bayard Crusaders on Friday in Coon Rapids.
The extended calendar has the Rockets facing the West Harrison Hawkeyes on Jan. 28, West Central Valley on Jan. 30 and CAM on Jan. 31.
