JUDA - Despite losing 80-56 Monday night to Barneveld, the Juda fans had something to cheer loudly about - Keagen Haffele reached the 1,000-point milestone in the second half.
Haffele, a senior, came into the game with 978 career varsity points and entered the handshake line afterwards with 1,001.
"I don't know if I wanted to cry or be happy," said Haffele, who scored 23 in the contest and scored No. 1,000 on a free throw with 1:49 left in the game. "It's every player's dream to score 1,000 in high school basketball. And it's crazy to think I could do it at home."
Haffele wasn't just out chucking shots at random, though. The pesky guard hustled after rebounds, picked off multiple passes and hit shot after shot - especially in the second half.
"I really wanted it at home," Haffele said, noting that the Panther's next home game isn't until Jan. 30. "It's special in front of the home fans. I really wanted to get it here."
Haffele is just the fourth player in Juda boys history to reach the feat. Greg Blum (1977-80), Brad Kees (1987-90), Chad Kesler (1990-93) and former teammate Matt Schmitt (2014-17) are the only others to do it. Just two players on the girls team have reached the feat.
"It's a special moment for him and the program," head coach Kurt Mansfield said. "I don't think there's a lot of programs in the state that can say they had back-to-back 1,000-point scorers. It shows how much work Keagen's put into getting better each year, and it finally all came together for him this year."
Haffele scored 18 points after halftime, a tough task against the defending WIAA Division 5 state champion Eagles.
"They've got a lot of length and it's tough to pass between them. Their press is pretty tough, too," Haffele said.
Barneveld (7-6, 6-1 Six Rivers East) dominated the boards and turnover margin early on. The Eagles doubled up Juda in both rebounds and forced turnovers in the opening half. Despite the lopsided numbers, the Panthers trailed 14-13 eight minutes into the game thanks to early 3-point shooting. Barneveld then went on a 21-5 run to open the score wide open.
"They kept us off the glass, and those rebounds led to their tempo," Mansfield said. "Their tempo wore us down."
Juda went into the break down 13, with the hot hand of Cole Fortney being the saving force. Fortney scored all 12 of his points on four 3s in the frame.
After halftime the Eagles found the south rim equally kind, hitting three straight 3s to open the half. Barneveld would have runs of 9-0 and 12-0 in the first seven minutes of the half, taking a 63-30 lead with 10:38 to play and effectively sealing the outcome.
"We live and die by the 3. We know we're a team that's going to have to hit some outside shots to stay competitive to stay in games," said Mansfield, whose team hit 11 3s in the game, six in the first half. "It showed in the first half, but then in the second half we got cold and the score got lopsided. We're not a team that's going to grind out a possession."
With the W and L all but assigned to each team, the Juda players and fans turned their eyes to Haffele.
"Keagen's a great player. We go through him for everything," Mansfield said. "He's an efficient player. He leads the team in most categories. He's a special player and I'm glad he got it at home."
Haffele finished the night with 23 points, three rebounds and two steals. He also took all 7 of Juda's free throw attempts, knocking down 5. Fortney's 12 was the second highest mark for the Panthers, and Trent Anderson and Dominic Taylor each had 6.
Barneveld had three players in double figures. Malcolm Reed, a 6-4 junior, scored 20 and added 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kauy Fargo had 17 points and Josh Slaney scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Barneveld hit all seven of its 3s in the second half.
"A good player like Malcolm draws a lot of attention. Our eyes got fixed on him and we forgot about their other role players," Mansfield said. "They are the defending state champs and those role players know how to play.
"I was telling the guys, this was truly only their second ugly loss of the year. We've been playing well, and in some cases, we've been winning in the second half. It just comes down to executing late in the game or in the first half in order to seal the win. We have to execute whenever that moment is."
Juda (3-8, 2-4) travels to Argyle (0-6, 3-10) on Thursday and hosts Albany (3-9, 2-4) on Jan. 30.
"We just have to get back at it at practice and work on some of those little things that hurt us tonight - turnovers and rebounding. That's critical for us to do well. And, of course, we're going to work on our shooting. We can't always live and die by the three," Mansfield said.
In other local action Monday, Pecatonica's boys basketball team steamrolled Belmont in Blanchardville, 61-20.
Haffele, a senior, came into the game with 978 career varsity points and entered the handshake line afterwards with 1,001.
"I don't know if I wanted to cry or be happy," said Haffele, who scored 23 in the contest and scored No. 1,000 on a free throw with 1:49 left in the game. "It's every player's dream to score 1,000 in high school basketball. And it's crazy to think I could do it at home."
Haffele wasn't just out chucking shots at random, though. The pesky guard hustled after rebounds, picked off multiple passes and hit shot after shot - especially in the second half.
"I really wanted it at home," Haffele said, noting that the Panther's next home game isn't until Jan. 30. "It's special in front of the home fans. I really wanted to get it here."
Haffele is just the fourth player in Juda boys history to reach the feat. Greg Blum (1977-80), Brad Kees (1987-90), Chad Kesler (1990-93) and former teammate Matt Schmitt (2014-17) are the only others to do it. Just two players on the girls team have reached the feat.
"It's a special moment for him and the program," head coach Kurt Mansfield said. "I don't think there's a lot of programs in the state that can say they had back-to-back 1,000-point scorers. It shows how much work Keagen's put into getting better each year, and it finally all came together for him this year."
Haffele scored 18 points after halftime, a tough task against the defending WIAA Division 5 state champion Eagles.
"They've got a lot of length and it's tough to pass between them. Their press is pretty tough, too," Haffele said.
Barneveld (7-6, 6-1 Six Rivers East) dominated the boards and turnover margin early on. The Eagles doubled up Juda in both rebounds and forced turnovers in the opening half. Despite the lopsided numbers, the Panthers trailed 14-13 eight minutes into the game thanks to early 3-point shooting. Barneveld then went on a 21-5 run to open the score wide open.
"They kept us off the glass, and those rebounds led to their tempo," Mansfield said. "Their tempo wore us down."
Juda went into the break down 13, with the hot hand of Cole Fortney being the saving force. Fortney scored all 12 of his points on four 3s in the frame.
After halftime the Eagles found the south rim equally kind, hitting three straight 3s to open the half. Barneveld would have runs of 9-0 and 12-0 in the first seven minutes of the half, taking a 63-30 lead with 10:38 to play and effectively sealing the outcome.
"We live and die by the 3. We know we're a team that's going to have to hit some outside shots to stay competitive to stay in games," said Mansfield, whose team hit 11 3s in the game, six in the first half. "It showed in the first half, but then in the second half we got cold and the score got lopsided. We're not a team that's going to grind out a possession."
With the W and L all but assigned to each team, the Juda players and fans turned their eyes to Haffele.
"Keagen's a great player. We go through him for everything," Mansfield said. "He's an efficient player. He leads the team in most categories. He's a special player and I'm glad he got it at home."
Haffele finished the night with 23 points, three rebounds and two steals. He also took all 7 of Juda's free throw attempts, knocking down 5. Fortney's 12 was the second highest mark for the Panthers, and Trent Anderson and Dominic Taylor each had 6.
Barneveld had three players in double figures. Malcolm Reed, a 6-4 junior, scored 20 and added 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Kauy Fargo had 17 points and Josh Slaney scored 10 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Barneveld hit all seven of its 3s in the second half.
"A good player like Malcolm draws a lot of attention. Our eyes got fixed on him and we forgot about their other role players," Mansfield said. "They are the defending state champs and those role players know how to play.
"I was telling the guys, this was truly only their second ugly loss of the year. We've been playing well, and in some cases, we've been winning in the second half. It just comes down to executing late in the game or in the first half in order to seal the win. We have to execute whenever that moment is."
Juda (3-8, 2-4) travels to Argyle (0-6, 3-10) on Thursday and hosts Albany (3-9, 2-4) on Jan. 30.
"We just have to get back at it at practice and work on some of those little things that hurt us tonight - turnovers and rebounding. That's critical for us to do well. And, of course, we're going to work on our shooting. We can't always live and die by the three," Mansfield said.
In other local action Monday, Pecatonica's boys basketball team steamrolled Belmont in Blanchardville, 61-20.
