The Chicago Rockstars basketball team hosted the Peoria Kings at NEIU on Dec. 9 in a roller coaster game that ended in a Rockstars win, 104-96.
The Kings proved themselves a physical team. At the end of the half, with a score of 54-41, a fight threatened to break out, and Peoria was called for a flagrant foul.
In the third quarter, Peoria stepped up with the defense which would have ended the quarter with Peoria behind by two. But with four milliseconds left, they sent Brian Zirkle to the line for two points, with a score of 70-66 to end the quarter.
There where many other surprises in the fourth quarter, as another fight almost flared up but was stopped before anything got started. The Rockstars even used their thirteenth man when the game got out of hand.
The thirteenth man rule is a rule devised by the American Basketball Association that allows a thirteenth player be put on the roster, suit up and play. The thirteenth man must be different every game and is selected by the team.
This game it was David Terrell, a Chicago Bear wide receiver from 2001 through 2004 who also played for the Denver Broncos in 2005. According to media relations for the Denver Broncos, he was cut from the team during spring training earlier this season.
Terrell wore the number 11 jersey and was responsible for three of the Rockstars’ points. Coach Kenny Williams on the 13th man said, “I’m not going to sacrifice a win for it. I felt like the game was pretty much in hand even though it got a little crazy at the end. In a close game, I’m not going to put him in for the entertainment part of it. It’s entertainment for me to win.”
After the game, Williams commented on how physical the game got, “It got kind of physical, but we kept our composure. Let’s be physical, but let’s be smart,” he said.
Rockstars guard and forward Sherrick Simpson said, “We know we’re better than this team we played today, but sometimes we tend to play to another teams level, which hurts us sometimes.”