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By Megan Shultz

Rock Church School

The Rock Church School varsity boys basketball team has continued its winning ways and moved to 12-0 on the season. 

The Rock Lions have kept up their winning streak with such endurance and readiness to take on each game. 

They recently played against the third-place team in the North Conference, Victory Christian. The Rock Lions dominated and won with a score of 77-47. 

Before this game Rock Church guard D.J. Dillon was only 12 points away from making 2,000 points for his high school career. In the very first quarter he made the final shot to make that personal record a reality. Everyone erupted and cheered for the high school junior. 

Dillon finished with a game-high 36 points. Jordan Myrick had an amazing night, ending up two steals away from a triple-double, as he finished with 31 points, 17 rebounds and eight steals. 

Dillon had five rebounds along with Luke Blythe and Adam Deaton. Justin Temple also added four rebounds. 

The leading scorer for Victory Christian was Ryan Williams, with 29 points. 

This was a big win for the Rock Lions as they look to claim the title of North Conference Regular Season Champions. 

The win, however, was overshadowed by the scoring achievement of Dillon. 

“This was a special night, not only as his coach, but even more as his dad,” Rock Church Head Coach Danny Dillon said. “D.J. is a special talent and even more of a special person. He has had one of the greatest careers ever at Rock Church School, and him making it to the 2,000-point club solidifies that. It was a tough decision in 2014 to transition from coaching at Franklin High School to come build back the Rock basketball program, however there is nothing like coaching your own son. I’m excited about his future in basketball but more proud of who he is in God.”

The Rock Lions also played against their rival, Bethel Assembly Christian Academy, that same week. Bethel is currently in second in the North Conference standings. 

Bethel has a standout junior named Brandon Williams who plays above the rim. 

The Jan. 27 contest was the Rock’s last game of the season in the Ben S. Dillon Life Center, so the pressure was on. 

Bethel was running close with the Lions at halftime with a score of 34-29. Rock was in foul trouble, with Myrick and Blythe having three fouls apiece. 

Dillon carried Rock in the second quarter, scoring all 14 points. The scoring ways would continue, as Dillon finished with a game-high 39 points and pulled the Rock Lions to a 62-51 victory. 

Myrick finished with 11 points and added nine rebounds, and Blythe had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The Rock defense held Brandon Williams to 14 points, while Noah Knowles led Bethel’s team with 21 points. 

Rock Lions gave their all in this game to the very end. 

The junior varsity team improved to 8-2, led by Adin Brown, who finished with 33 points against a tough Victory Christian JV team. 

As the Lions work to improve individually and as a team, they learn more about the game and how to push themselves, making them stronger and better week to week. As they look back on the season, they see just how far they’ve come, as even greater athletes.