SANDWICH — Throughout a game that saw more than its fair share of equals between Sandwich and Rochelle, one brief 2-minute and 40-second span of the third quarter proved absolutely vital in putting the visiting Hubs on the greater side of a 58-53 Interstate Eight Conference victory Friday evening here at SHS.

With the Indians ahead by three with a little better than two minutes gone after halftime, Rochelle embarked on a blistering 16-0 rally — which included four consecutive 3-pointers — to seize a 13-point advantage in what seemed like a blink of an eye.

From there, Sandwich fought back and cut the gap to just a pair with 1:40 to go in the fourth frame before it ran out of gas in the waning moments despite matching the Hubs exactly in shooting (20 of 49, 41%), rebounding (27 apiece), and 3-point field goal percentage (37%).

"We know Rochelle can hit you quick, and they certainly did in the third quarter, getting a big run to go up 13 after we had the lead a couple of minutes into the half," said SHS coach Jim Braddish. "But we hung in there and cut it down to two after slowly creeping back into it.

"We just couldn't hit a shot down the stretch, so credit to Rochelle for that big rally that was really the difference in the ballgame even though I felt we matched up with them very well."

Senior Kyle Theurer led the Indians (5-13, 1-5) with 12 points on a quad of triples. Junior brother Drew Theurer followed with a double-double of 10 tallies and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior Ian Kelson recorded nine markers, while senior Rex Avery added eight.

But the Hubs (9-9, 3-3) won their fifth game in a row after tremendous outings from junior Garrett Burdin, who dumped in a contest-best 17 points, followed by junior guard Austin Brown, who netted 15 including 11 during the big third-period rally which also saw him drain a trio of treys within a 40-second span to bust the game open.

Senior Landan Martin chipped in 10 tallies for the victorious visitors.

"I thought in the first half we looked very sluggish, and I told the kids at halftime that we needed to pick things up in the third quarter, and we sure did," said RHS veteran coach Tim Thompson.

"Burdin hit a 3-pointer to get us started, and then it was Brown bang-bang-bang, and before we knew it, we were up by 13 in a very short span of time. From there, we had to hold on, because Sandwich didn't give up here on their home court. Thank goodness for that big run in the third, and we're just thankful to get out of here with our fifth straight victory."

Rochelle led 13-12 after eight minutes of play, but Sandwich seemed to own the best of the second stanza. Sawyer Allen (5 pts.) started things off with an old-fashioned three-point play at 7:05 followed by Kyle Theurer's right-wing triple at the 6-minute mark that put the Indians ahead 18-13.

Drew Theurer would net a pair of two-plus-ones at 3:50 and 2:45 to keep the Indians ahead, 26-24, but Simmons would bomb home a trio of treys — the final pair coming at 2:25 and with two seconds to go — that knotted the game at 30-30 going into the locker room at the half.

Cade Miller opened the third quarter with a left-wing 3-ball at 6:50 which put Sandwich up 33-30. Then the Hubs onslaught ensued with a Burdin trey at 5:20 and Brown's almost unconscious effort of triples at 4:40, 4:35 and 4:25 after a couple of quick Rochelle steals.

Burdin completed the 16-point outburst with a deuce at 3:05, as Rochelle leapt out to a quick 46-33 lead.

Evan Wilson and Kyle Theurer nailed longballs that closed out the period with the locals down only 49-42 despite the Hubs huge rally. Burdin, however, increased the Rochelle lead to 11 in the fourth at 53-42 after a left-baseline 3-ball at 6:35.

There, the Indians embarked on an 11-2 run when Kyle Theurer's volleyball-line 3-pointer with 1:40 to go cut the gap to 55-53, but the Indians couldn't find the net the rest of the way.

"Overall, I thought the way we played after they got off in the third and the way we battled back was something good we can take out of this game," Braddish said. "It's a tough loss for sure, but I believe we're playing some good basketball right now, and it showed tonight against a very good ballclub."

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At Sandwich

Rochelle 58, Sandwich 53

(Key: FG FT-FTA TP)

ROCHELLE (58) — Warborg 0 0-0 0, Burdin 6 2-2 17, Martin 3 3-5 10, Gould 2 0-0 4, Simmons 3 0-0 9, Hickey 1 1-2 3, Brown 5 2-4 15, Sanford 0 0-0 0. Totals 20-49 8-13 58.

SANDWICH (53) — Wilson 1 0-0 3, Miller 2 0-0 5, Kelson 4 0-0 9, K. Theurer 4 0-0 12, D. Theurer 4 2-4 10, J. Theurer 0 1-2 1, Avery 3 2-2 8, Allen 2 1-1 5. Totals 20-49 6-9 53.

Rochelle (9-9, 3-3) 13 17 19 9 — 58

Sandwich (5-13, 1-5) 12 18 12 11 — 53

3-point goals – Rochelle 10-27 (Burdin 3, Brown 3, Simmons 3, Martin); Sandwich 7-19 (K. Theurer 4, Wilson, Miller, Kelson). Rebounds – Rochelle 27 (Burdin 9); Sandwich 27 (D. Theurer 10, Avery 5). Turnovers – Rochelle 14; Sandwich 19. Total fouls (none fouled out) – Rochelle 12; Sandwich 14.