ROCKINGHAM — Three days after sweeping Ellerbe Middle School, the Rockingham Middle School boys’ and girls’ basketball teams were back in action on their home court to round out the first full week of games since Christmas break.
Making the trip across the Pee Dee River were the Anson Middle School basketball teams, but neither one made much of a dent against the Rockets and Lady Rockets. Head coach Teresa Mason’s Lady Rockets used a strong defensive effort to defeat the Lady Bearcats 26-7, while the Rockets and head coach Julius Bowden rolled past their opponent 47-28.
The seven points allowed by the Lady Rockets was the fewest amount any opponent has scored against them this season. And while the 23 points were enough to do the job, it was sixth grader Jamyia Lindsey who had another stellar performance in her first year of middle school ball.
On Monday against the Lady Wildcats, Lindsey led all scorers with 12 points. She followed up that performance with a game-high 13 points against Anson, nearly doubling the Lady Bearcats’ final tally. The next top scorer for Rockingham was Keyoni Nichols with four points, followed by C’Niya Hinson (3 points) and two points each from C’Nedra Hinson, Edrianna Davis and Joy Styles.
The win makes the Lady Rockets a perfect 4-0 on the season, and they are currently tied with Hamlet Middle School for the lead in the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference standings.
Following the girls’ game, the Rockets hit the floor and managed to get back to the .500 mark. After starting the season 0-2, Bowden and company have outscored their opponents 103-46 in the two games since returning from Christmas break. The 47 points against Anson were the second-highest in a game this season for the Rockets.
Eighth grader Dakota Chavis led the offensive scoring attack for the second-straight game, as he netted a game-high 14 points, following up his 10-point performance against Ellerbe. Talan Stoner tacked on nine more points for Rockingham, while Zion Baldwin added eight points, with Emmanuel Gilliam (6 points) and Noah Hogan (5 points) rounding out the scoring.
Bowden noted that “Hogan and Stoner played big minutes for us off the bench” and that they “brought a lot of much-needed energy to the game.”
Rockingham Middle School will have an entire week off from game action, as both teams will return to play Thursday, Jan. 17. Tip offs against Cordova Middle School are set for 4 p.m. (girls) and 5 p.m. (boys).
