Trailing by four points with 3 minutes to play on the road, the Rock Falls Rockets couldn’t close the gap any further Friday night in an 86-71 loss to Rockford Lutheran in the Big Northern West opener for both teams.

Steven Armoska scored 27 points for the Rockets (5-2, 0-1), and Jace Anderson hit six 3-pointers for 18 points. Austin Babcock (15 points) and Eddie Nelson (11 points) also hit double figures for Rock Falls.

Thomas Kopelman matched Armoska’s 27-point effort to pace the Crusaders (5-1, 1-0), while Nate Wieting scored 25.