February 10, 2023, the Judson Rockets faced off against the Steele Knights. 

The night began with the Knights winning the toss-up, however, the Rockets quickly gained the ball and started the first few minutes with back-to-back points from the Rockets. The Knights, however, began gaining momentum, until a layup from Malcolm Harvin put the Rockets ahead. A three from Donavan Gomez and a layup from Izziek Chandler kept the Rockets ahead, score 9-7.  Steele however caught up, ending the first quarter 11-11. 

Second quarter, the Rockets came ready to bring the energy, however shooting errors caused the Knights to take the lead. Luckily, a layup by Christopher Gooden Jr. helped the Rockets catch up, putting the score 17-16. From there, the Rockets gained fuel to take off with a layup and a three-pointer putting the score 21-17. Although the Rockets were hot, it wasn’t long until Steele countered with some hot plays as well. The second half ended score 21-24, Knights. 

The third quarter started off slow, however, a dunk by Malcolm Harvin turned up the crowd. A free throw from Chandler put the Rockets in the lead 27-26. The Knights didn’t let up and caught the lead until a layup by Elijah Favela tied the score 31-31. The rest of the third quarter was a tit-for-tat game. The Knights would score and the Rockets would come back with a smart play to even the score. The third quarter ended 35-35 with a layup from Joshua Martin. 

The fourth quarter began with a layup from Donavan Gomez, setting the tone for the fourth quarter, the Rockets didn’t come to play. Elijah Favela followed up with a layup, putting the score 39-37. The Rockets and Knights continued their back and forth, until Donavan made a 2-pointer, bringing the score 46-44, and getting the crowd excited. The players from each team continued to hustle and play hard until the 4th quarter ended with a score of 46-46, sending the Rockets into overtime. 

The Rockets worked very hard, sweat dripping from the heat of the gym. The crowd was tense and it came down to who would finish the game. Though the communication, passing and defense was there, the Rockets fell short, ending the game 46-57, Knights.