ROCHESTER - Whitko head coach Steve Pickett knew the Rochester Zebras were a very talented and experienced team.

But he had no idea they could shoot 78 percent (29 of 37) from the field and then hold his Wildcats to a dismal 21 percent (11 of 52).

The result was an impressive 82-33 victory for Rochester.

"It's extremely disappointing, because I thought we had a very good week of practice," Pickett said. "I scouted Rochester twice (last week). I really felt like I knew what they were gonna do."

The fact that the Wildcats had two players, Bryan Howard and J.R. Manuel, leave the team recently didn't help matters.

"That had nothing to do with it (loss)," Pickett said. "We've really struggled with the pressure and missing open shots."

Rochester's Blake Newton made two of his four three-pointers in the first quarter to get the Zebras (9-7, 3-3 Three Rivers Conference) off to a 19-8 lead after one.

Newton added eight second-quarter points, and Nick Bowers chipped in with five as Rochester expanded its lead to 34-15 at halftime.

The third quarter even got worse for the Wildcats. They shot 2 of 14 from the field, scored only five points and fell behind 55-20 heading into the final stanza. Landon Barts exploded for 11 third-quarter points, mostly on easy lay-ups for the Zebras.

"We panicked, felt like we had to shoot the three and take quick shots, to get back in it," Pickett said. "I'm concerned about us not getting the ball to the paint enough, and then us not defending the paint."

Rochester used all of its players during the fourth quarter and coasted home with a 49-point victory. In a very balanced attack, the Zebras were led by Barts and Newton who scored 17 points each. Bowers added 16.

Adam Wendel, Shane Henderson, Ben Ryan and Josh Hoffman each scored six points to lead the Wildcats (3-13, 0-5 TRC).

Whitko, now 3-13 overall and 0-6 in the conference will try to improve on Thursday as they travel to Wabash to face TRC opponent Southwood.

"Our main concern is Southwood," said Pickett. "Each game we try to work on shot selection, trying to get the ball into the paint and moving strongly."

ROCHESTER 82, WHITKO 33

Whitko (3-13) 8 7 5 13 - 33

Rochester (9-7) 19 15 21 27 - 82

Whitko FG FT A S R Pts.

*Wendel (G) 1-8 3-6 1 0 2 6

*Robbins (G 1-8 2-3 1 2 1 4

*Henderson (F) 2-12 1-2 2 1 3 6

*Goble (F) 1-3 0-0 0 0 1 2

*Frantz (C) 0-1 0-0 0 0 3 0

Walker 1-5 0-0 0 0 2 3

Ryan 2-8 1-2 0 1 3 6

Hoffman 3-5 0-0 0 0 4 6

Clausen 0-2 0-0 0 1 0 0

Totals 11-52 7-13 4 5 18 33

Rochester FG FT A S R Pts.

Patterson (G) 1-2 0-0 0 0 1 2

Blake Newton (G) 5-8 3-4 2 0 4 17

Barts (F) 7-8 3-6 2 3 2 17

Beck (F) 4-5 2-2 2 1 4 10

Bowers (C) 4-4 8-10 1 0 3 16

Surface 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Jana 0-0 1-2 0 1 0 1

Swank 2-3 0-0 0 1 1 5

Reasoner 2-3 0-0 0 1 4 4

Bill Newton 2-2 0-0 0 1 1 4

Frounfelter 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Anderson 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 6

Totals 29-37 17-24 8 8 20 82

Three-point goals - Whitko 4-21 (Wendel 1-5, Henderson 1-7, Walker 1-3, Ryan 1-3, Goble 0-1, Clausen 0-2), Rochester 7-10 (Patterson 0-1, Swank 1-1, Beck 0-1, Blake Newton 4-5, Anderson 2-2). Fouled Out - none. Total Fouls - Whitko 19, Rochester 14. Turnovers - Whitko 19, Rochester 12.

JV: Rochester 46, Whitko 44

Rochester - Felke 8, Surface 8, Rom 2, Anderson 9, Frounfelter 4, Bill Newton 7, Riddle 8.

Whitko - Clausen 17, Lopshire 9, Hoffman 2, Garber 13, Walpole 3. [[In-content Ad]]