Rockhurst’s experienced starting lineup scored all 68 of the team’s points Monday night in a tightly contested road victory against fellow district contender Lee’s Summit North. The 68-66 final score was an accurate reflection of a contest between teams ranked fifth and eighth respectively in the most recent iteration of MoKan Sports Network’s top 25 in Missouri.
The game was tightly contested down to the final buzzer.
After senior point guard Cohen Robinson turned the ball over following an unlucky no-call, the game stood tied at 66 with 17 seconds left.
“It’s just ‘next play’ with those types of calls,” Robinson said. “We can’t go back and change it, so you got to have ‘next play’ mentality.”
The next play for the Hawklets was a go-ahead layup by senior guard Max Moylan to regain the lead. The next play for Robinson would be a game-ending block on LSN’s final possession. The reigning Rockhurst Athlete of the Week finished the game with 15 points to pair with 5 assists.
“I was trying to make it as hard on him as possible, and that’s what I did,” Robinson said of the stop.
Head coach Billy Thomas commended the maturity of his team to come out on top of a hotly contested final two frames.
“Years past, we lose that basketball game,” Thomas said. “That’s the maturity in us to be able to kind of just settle on back down and take advantage.”
Robinson, now in his fourth year starting alongside Moylan and Kevin Sullivan, shared similar sentiments about the squad’s composure.
“We’re really tough…backs against the wall, we’re going to make the play to win the game,” Robinson said.
Several Hawklets neared double-doubles on the night as seniors Hueston Saunders (15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 7-8 on FGs) and Sullivan (16/7/3), as well as junior Kemper Roberts (13/4/7) posted big stat lines. Moylan—who scored the game-winner off the glass—finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds. Elijah Livingston and Tre Paulding led the way for the Broncos with 17 apiece.
Now a perfect 6-0 on the young season, the Hawklets stand atop the district standings as the only remaining unbeaten Class 6 squad in Kansas City. Only Rolla matches Rockhurst’s record among Class 6 schools in the entire state of Missouri.
In the face of the expectations an unbeaten mark carries, Thomas’s outfit is looking to take the season week-by-week.
“We set the tone of finishing the week 2-0,” Thomas said. “We’ve got one of those wins out of the way, and we just want to finish the week 2-0, and be victorious on Friday.”
At the conclusion of finals week, Rockhurst will take to the home court to kick off Christmas break against the Blue Valley Tigers and former Hawklet Parker Seithel, who are ranked second in MoKan Sports Network’s top 25 in Kansas. It will be the annual “Silent Night” game, when the student section remains quiet until the team scores eight points. After that, expect a raucous atmosphere–especially considering the team is facing a former classmate for the seniors in Seithel.
Robinson described the longstanding tradition of the “Silent Night” game as a “really good basketball environment,” and one in which the team hopes to maintain its upward trajectory.
“The ceiling is just crazy with this group. We’re just going to keep moving one game at a time,” Robinson said.
Varsity will tip off at 7 p.m. as Rockhurst looks to extend their undefeated season even longer.
