Game Night Guide: Macomb, Rockridge lock horns once again, this time with sectional title at stake

Class 2A Canton Sectional Championship

Macomb (27-5) vs. Rockridge (24-6)

Where: Alice Ingersoll Gym, Canton High School

When: 6 p.m. Friday

Livestream: Bomber Sports Network

Radio: WRMJ 102.3 FM

Scouting the Bombers: Coming off the sectional semifinal upset of title favorite Peoria Manual, the Bombers’ biggest challenge will be to not have a letdown. Facing a familiar foe and wanting a little redemption should help keep the energy high. Macomb lost to Rockridge 36-33 in the championship game of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament with Rockets forward Landon Bull being named the tournament MVP. Led by senior forwards Dion Doyle and Ian Case, the Bombers can present interior problems for opponents, especially with Doyle’s ability to elevate and score over defenders. Junior guard Braden Holthaus and sophomore guard Drew Watson bring savvy and high basketball IQ to the floor, and the Bombers have been eager for this opportunity. Macomb went 14-0 in the COVID-shortened season but never got the chance to play in the postseason. So they are looking for their first sectional title since 2006. 

Scouting the Rockets: Been here, done that. Rockridge knows how to win with the season on the line. The Rockets have won four sectional titles and four state trophies in the last decade, including back-to-back fourth-place finishes in Class 2A in 2022 and 2023. Junior forward Landon Bull was the second-leading scorer on last year’s state tournament team and lives up to his last name as a physical presence in the lane and a high-quality rebounder. Bull scored 11 points in the 31-28 victory over Peoria Notre Dame in the sectional semifinal. Senior forward Carson Klemme likely will draw the defensive assignment on Doyle. Klemme guarded PND’s 6-foot-9 Eion Dillon in that game and help the Belmont University recruit to four points.