SHULLSBURG - T.J. Zweifel did his Jonathon Papelbon thing Friday night.
The Albany junior played the closer role to perfection, hitting clutch shots at the end of the second and third quarter to control the momentum war in a 42-38 Six Rivers Shootout victory over Shullsburg.
Zweifel had 16 points and sophomore Bryce Hulbert scored six of his eight points in the second quarter that followed a 13-7 lead for the Miners through one.
"(Bryce) really got us going tonight," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "These guys will do anything to compete right now and they're on a mission."
Said mission takes the Comets to face Division 4 stalwart Burlington Catholic Central in Tuesday's first round of the WIAA regional playoffs.
Pecatonica 53,
Highland 41
HIGHLAND - Pecatonica coach Jim Syse called Friday's game the best shooting night of the year as his Vikings upended the Cardinals, 53-41.
Pecatonica was cold in the first quarter, Syse said, and trailed 11-5 but the Vikings quickly turned things around in the second quarter to take a 21-17 lead into the locker room at the half.
The reason the Vikings got hot? Drew Moen, who scored 10 of his game-high 27 points in the second quarter. Moen finished the game with six 3-pointers.
"In the third (quarter) he and (Kaleb) Feller were matching baskets," Syse said.
Feller finished the game with 12 points.
The Vikings increased the four-point halftime lead to a 25-point lead by the end of the third quarter.
Highland outscored Pecatonica 20-7 in the fourth quarter but by that time the game was already well in hand.
Syse said he was also pleased with how well his team played defensively.
The Vikings are 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
Potosi 45, Juda 43
POTOSI - It was deja vu all over again, Juda coach Andy Werner said after his team lost it's fourth close game in a row.
After trailing by eight points earlier in the fourth quarter, Juda's Kurtis Mansfield had tied the game at 43 with about 28 seconds to play. Potosi brought the ball down the court. A Juda defender was called for a foul which allowed Potosi to hit free throws with four seconds left in the game to seal the win.
"I thought we were in position to draw the charge but the call went the other way," Werner said.
Mansfield led all scorers with 18 points.
Benton 57,
Black Hawk 51
BENTON - The Zephyrs say 3-pointers are overrated.
Benton won the battle of division leaders by steadily wearing out the Warriors with quarters of 15, 15, 14 and 13, all without hitting a shot from beyond the arc.
Joey Hartwig led Black Hawk with 18 points in the loss.
Kane Hoffmann led all scorers with 16 points and Jordan Hendricks chipped in 14 for Benton.
Monticello 65,
River Ridge 30
PATCH GROVE - The Monticello Ponies jumped out to an 18-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back while on their way to a 35-point win.
Every one of the Monticello players were able to score points in the game that was virtually over by halftime.
D.J. McGowan scored all nine of his points for Monticello in the first half and Jacob Edge, who led all scorers with 12 points, hit two 3-pointers in the second. J.T. Meier contributed 11 points in the win, while Dusty Ritschard added eight.
The Timberwolves were led in scoring by Weston Nemitz, who scored eight points.
Argyle 48,
Cassville 40
CASSVILLE - Argyle's dynamic southpaw went off for 22 points and the club pitched a shutout as a team in a 12-0 second quarter.
Orioles junior Andy Bohlman scored a game-high 22 without hitting a shot from beyond the arc while classmate Kevin Berg pitched in with eight points.
After just one regular-season victory a year ago, the Orioles put together five Ws this season.
Fennimore 53, Darlington 42
FENNIMORE - As red-hot as freshman phenom Alex Erickson is right now, the Redbirds are stone cold in the win column.
For the second straight night, the point guard led the way, scoring 17 points, but an 11-4 second quarter for Fennimore put Darlington in a hole from which it couldn't recover against the deep Eagles team.
Fennimore post Jake Wiederholt led all scorers with 19 points.
The Albany junior played the closer role to perfection, hitting clutch shots at the end of the second and third quarter to control the momentum war in a 42-38 Six Rivers Shootout victory over Shullsburg.
Zweifel had 16 points and sophomore Bryce Hulbert scored six of his eight points in the second quarter that followed a 13-7 lead for the Miners through one.
"(Bryce) really got us going tonight," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "These guys will do anything to compete right now and they're on a mission."
Said mission takes the Comets to face Division 4 stalwart Burlington Catholic Central in Tuesday's first round of the WIAA regional playoffs.
Pecatonica 53,
Highland 41
HIGHLAND - Pecatonica coach Jim Syse called Friday's game the best shooting night of the year as his Vikings upended the Cardinals, 53-41.
Pecatonica was cold in the first quarter, Syse said, and trailed 11-5 but the Vikings quickly turned things around in the second quarter to take a 21-17 lead into the locker room at the half.
The reason the Vikings got hot? Drew Moen, who scored 10 of his game-high 27 points in the second quarter. Moen finished the game with six 3-pointers.
"In the third (quarter) he and (Kaleb) Feller were matching baskets," Syse said.
Feller finished the game with 12 points.
The Vikings increased the four-point halftime lead to a 25-point lead by the end of the third quarter.
Highland outscored Pecatonica 20-7 in the fourth quarter but by that time the game was already well in hand.
Syse said he was also pleased with how well his team played defensively.
The Vikings are 10-10 overall and 6-6 in the conference.
Potosi 45, Juda 43
POTOSI - It was deja vu all over again, Juda coach Andy Werner said after his team lost it's fourth close game in a row.
After trailing by eight points earlier in the fourth quarter, Juda's Kurtis Mansfield had tied the game at 43 with about 28 seconds to play. Potosi brought the ball down the court. A Juda defender was called for a foul which allowed Potosi to hit free throws with four seconds left in the game to seal the win.
"I thought we were in position to draw the charge but the call went the other way," Werner said.
Mansfield led all scorers with 18 points.
Benton 57,
Black Hawk 51
BENTON - The Zephyrs say 3-pointers are overrated.
Benton won the battle of division leaders by steadily wearing out the Warriors with quarters of 15, 15, 14 and 13, all without hitting a shot from beyond the arc.
Joey Hartwig led Black Hawk with 18 points in the loss.
Kane Hoffmann led all scorers with 16 points and Jordan Hendricks chipped in 14 for Benton.
Monticello 65,
River Ridge 30
PATCH GROVE - The Monticello Ponies jumped out to an 18-point lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back while on their way to a 35-point win.
Every one of the Monticello players were able to score points in the game that was virtually over by halftime.
D.J. McGowan scored all nine of his points for Monticello in the first half and Jacob Edge, who led all scorers with 12 points, hit two 3-pointers in the second. J.T. Meier contributed 11 points in the win, while Dusty Ritschard added eight.
The Timberwolves were led in scoring by Weston Nemitz, who scored eight points.
Argyle 48,
Cassville 40
CASSVILLE - Argyle's dynamic southpaw went off for 22 points and the club pitched a shutout as a team in a 12-0 second quarter.
Orioles junior Andy Bohlman scored a game-high 22 without hitting a shot from beyond the arc while classmate Kevin Berg pitched in with eight points.
After just one regular-season victory a year ago, the Orioles put together five Ws this season.
Fennimore 53, Darlington 42
FENNIMORE - As red-hot as freshman phenom Alex Erickson is right now, the Redbirds are stone cold in the win column.
For the second straight night, the point guard led the way, scoring 17 points, but an 11-4 second quarter for Fennimore put Darlington in a hole from which it couldn't recover against the deep Eagles team.
Fennimore post Jake Wiederholt led all scorers with 19 points.
