Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WELLSTON — You can’t fault the Rock Hill Redmen for being picky.
The Redmen hit 23-of-41 shots for 56 percent as they rolled past the Wellston Golden Rockets 53-32 in the season opener on Friday.
“We played really well as a team. We did a great job with our shot selection and it showed in our shooting percentage,” said Rock Hill coach Gordy Collins.
Rock Hill also had only nine turnovers and limited Wellston to 28 percent shooting on 11-of-39 attempts. The Golden Rockets were only 5-of-21 from the 3-point arc.
“We also did a great job of taking care of the ball, especially in the second half with only two turnovers. Our overall team defense was solid throughout the game. We are very pleased to get this strong start to the season,” said Collins.
Kadin France dominated inside with 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Redmen. Caleb Dillon and Braden Stamper gave France help on the boards.
R.J. Kemp and Brice Randolph scored 10 points each for the Golden Rockets (0-1). Josh Bodey had seven rebounds and three assists.
Wellston’s only lead of the game was 3-2 on a 3-pointer by Brian Randolph.
With the game tied 4-4, Garrett Miller hit a field goal and Rock Hill went on a 10-4 run to end the quarter and it was 14-8.
The Redmen were up 20-12 in the second quarter when Rylan Molihan and Brian Randolph hit back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 20-18 with 2:17 left in the half.
But Rock Hill answered with consecutive 3-pointers by Braden Stamper and Logan Hankins followed by a steal and layup by Jake Blagg with just 14 seconds left on the clock and the lead was now 28-18 at the half.
Rock Hill outscored Wellston 15-5 in the third quarter as France went to work with nine points and the lead grew to 43-23.
Donnie Watters made a layup with 4:31 left in the third quarter and R.J. Kemp had a 3-pointer with 2:45 on the clock to account for Wellston’s points in the quarter.
Rock Hill built a 4-26 lead with three minutes to play in the game when Collins began to empty his bench.
The Redmen host Green on Tuesday.
Rock Hill 14 14 15 10 = 53
Wellston 8 10 5 9 = 32
ROCK HILL (1-0): Logan Hankins 2 1 0-0 7, Garrett Miller 2 0 0-0 4, Jake Blagg 2 0 1-2 5, Caleb Davis 0 0 0-0 0, Nick Blankenship 0 0 0-0 0, Braden Stamper 2 1 0-0 7, Caleb Dillon 2 0 1-4 5, Owen Hankins 0 0 0-0 0, Brayden Malone 2 0 0-0 4, Cameron Donohue 0 0 0-0 0, Jacob Schwab 1 0 0-0 2, Kadin France 7 0 3-8 17. Totals: 23-41 5-15 53. 3-pt goals: 2-4. Rebounds: 9-O, 27-D = 36 (France 15). Assists: 11 (Blagg 5, L. Hankins 2). Steals: 10 (Stamper 3, Blagg 2, Dillon 2). Turnovers: 9. Blocked shots: 2 (France, L. Hankins). Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.
WELLSTON (0-1): Rylan Molihan 1 0 1-2 4, R.J. Kemp 1 2 2-4 10, Zane Ervin 1 0 0-0 2, Brice Randolph 1 2 2-5 10, Jarrett Wilson 1 0 0-2 2, Josh Bodey 1 0 0-0 2, Cole Broaddus 0 0 0-0 0, Donnie Watters 1 0 0-2 2. Totals: 11-39 5-15 32. 3-pt goals: 5-21. Rebounds: 23 (Bodey 7). Assists: 8 (Bodey 3). Steals: 6 (Ervin 3). Turnovers: 16. Blocked shots: 1 (Watters). Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.