For the better part of 29 minutes, the Rochelle boys basketball team’s offense could do no wrong.

For the last three minutes, the Hubs couldn’t manage a shot against the Sycamore defense as the Spartans completed the comeback for an 84-78 win on Friday in the Interstate 8 opener for both teams.

“We’re rolling in hot,” said Sycamore guard Marcus Johnson, who finished with a team-high 22 points, six rebounds and three steals. “It gives us the confidence ... to dominate the conference. We’re ready to keep winning games.”

It was a Sycamore sweep in Rochelle, as the Spartans won the girls game as well, 58-39, behind 16 points and 11 rebounds from Sadie Lang. Quinn Carrier added 14 points and six rebounds in the win.

In the boys game, the Hubs (2-3 overall, 0-1 conference) led most of the way, including by as much as 13 in the first half.

Every time the Spartans (4-0, 1-0) got close, the Hubs stretched the lead back out. Sycamore tied it up at 51, Rochelle scored the next eight. Sycamore cut the lead to 67-66, Rochelle rattled off six straight.

“This season means too much to us,” Johnson said. “We just have to keep punching. As much effort as we can put in, we just have to give it our all. That’s how we did it. That’s how we got a win.”

The Hubs pushed the lead to 76-70 on a layup by Warren Schweitzer with 3:39 left. It was their last field goal of the game and Sycamore would score the next 12 points before Rochelle scored again.

Johnson had the chance to tie the game at 76 with a pair of free throws but missed the back end. Isaiah Feuerbach grabbed the offensive rebound, and eventually Johnson found his way back to the line. He made both, putting the Spartans ahead 77-76 with 2:05 left.

“We just preached to play the whole 32 minutes,” Sycamore coach Ethan Franklin said. “We were getting the looks we were wanting on offense and we were converting. It was just a matter of if we were going to put stops together. So the one stretch we were finally able to put stops together, we created a little bit of separation and finished out the game.”

A Feuerbach steal on the next possession led to a layup for Xander Lewis, who finished with 11 points. Lewis got a steal on the next possession and Johnson made a free throw to extend the lead to 80-76 with 47 seconds left. After another Rochelle turnover, Lewis hit two free throws with 29.4 seconds left.

Feuerbach finished with 18 points and six steals. Josiah Mitchell had 20 points. Brody Bruns had 28 points and six rebounds for the Hubs.

Bruns just crossed over 1,000 points for his career earlier this week and had the night he did despite being under the weather, Rochelle coach Tim Thompson said, adding he expects a big year out of him.

The Hubs turned the ball over 24 times in the game, including 11 in the fourth quarter. They went 7:34 before their first turnover in the second half, but 0:09 before their first turnover of the fourth quarter.

“I thought we just kind of crumbled a little bit under the pressure late in the game,” Thompson said. “We just couldn’t make a play, couldn’t get the ball where we needed to. I thought Brody had a great game and late in the game we just couldn’t get him enough touches.”

Bruns attempted one shot in the fourth quarter.

In the girls’ game, the Spartans never trailed. After going up 11, the Hubs scored eight straight in the second quarter. Sycamore got it back up to 30-20 in the third and it was never in single digits again.

Sycamore coach Adam Wickness liked the way his team got the ball up the court, especially when it was growing its lead.

“Our transition game looked pretty good,” Wickness said. “I thought we ran our lanes really well. We got some easy buckets early on.”

The Spartans ran into foul trouble at the end of the third quarter, but the Hubs were unable to capitalize. They were 6 of 13 in the quarter, missing four straight at one point when they trailed by 11.

“It’s a little deflating I think when we had so many opportunities, I think and then the ball wouldn’t go in,” Rochelle coach John Gehm said. “Jayden Dickey is a great free-throw shooter but for whatever reason tonight, ball is just not going in.”

Gehm said it was an uncharacteristic flaw in an otherwise characteristically great night for Dickey, who finished with a game-high 17 points along with nine rebounds and three steals.

“No matter if she’s making or missing every night she’s playing as hard as she possibly can defensively,” Gehm said. “She prides herself on defense. That’s something she carries with her every game.”