BARNEVELD - Despite having gone 25 days without playing a game, the Black Hawk boys basketball team rose to the occasion with a nail-biting victory over Six Rivers East leader Barneveld, 56-54.
"I thought we may be a little rusty," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "Early on I thought we might not shoot as well, but the kids came out and performed."
Black Hawk held a 33-22 lead at halftime, before Barneveld outscored the Warriors by 11 in the third to tie the game up going into the final quarter. Barneveld led 54-53 with 30 seconds remaining, but Black Hawk's Seth Butler completed a three-point play with 4.4 seconds left to seal the win for the Warriors.
Butler and Merik Meythaler led Black Hawk (6-1, 4-1 Six Rivers East) with 11 points apiece. Barneveld's Devon Schult knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 20 points.
"The kids just held their composure," Manlick said. "They kept on working and capitalizing on each possession offensively. Last year we wouldn't have pulled this game out."
The defeat was Barneveld's first conference loss of the season. Manlick said that knocking off the Eagles was a necessary step for his team to compete for a conference championship.
"I told the kids before the game, if you want to consider yourselves one of the best in conference you have to beat the best," he said. "Barneveld won conference last year and they are always a top team in conference. It's a huge win for us. Hopefully we can keep this going."
Argyle 56, Albany 53
ARGYLE - The Albany boys basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season by knocking off Argyle in a hard-fought Six Rivers East battle, 56-53.
Orioles JV coach Chuck Bredeson said the team gave a tremendous effort given their difficult scheduling.
"We played extremely hard; both teams did. It was a battle," he said. "This was our third game in a row; we played Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. We were in Potosi last night, we didn't get home 'til 11:30. We were worried we'd be tired, but we played probably the hardest out of those three games."
Albany (4-7, 1-4 Six Rivers East) led throughout most of the game, but Argyle (5-7, 2-2) had a couple of chances in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.
"We were worried we didn't have anything left," Bredeson said. "We got (Albany's lead) down to 3. We ended up getting the ball under our basket with 6 seconds left. We had two looks at threes to tie the game, but we couldn't get either of them to fall."
Isaiah Shell continued his solid season, leading with Comets with 20 points. Tyler Dahl also chipped in 12 for Albany. Mitchell Steiner and Christopher Severson each scored 12 for Argyle, and Pablo Vives led the Orioles with 16.
New Glarus 53, Cambridge 52
NEW GLARUS - After a 1-8 start to the season, it seems the New Glarus boys basketball team might be turning a corner. The Glarner Knights picked up their third win in a row by knocking off Cambridge, 53-52.
New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said he was pleased with his team's effort.
"I thought defensively we did some really good things," he said. "The guys are playing hard right now."
New Glarus (4-8, 2-0 in the Capitol South) led the entire game, but Cambridge pulled to within two points with just 5.7 seconds remaining. The Blue Jays then fouled New Glarus' Caleb Fredrickson, who put the game away with a pair of clutch free throws. Cambridge hit a three at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late.
Senior Spencer Jones led the Knights with 17 points, Gabe Noyce added 16 and Fredrickson chipped in 11.
Sysko was also happy with the defensive play of junior Patrick Elzen.
"Elzen blocked a three-pointer when they were down two. I thought he had an excellent defensive game," Sysko said.
Monticello 40, Brodhead 39
MONTICELLO - Monticello junior Lucas Marty hit a three with a minute left to break a tied ballgame, giving the Ponies a big enough lead to hold off Brodhead, 40-39.
"We got him a good look," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "We have a lot of confidence when he has the ball in his hands."
Marty led the Ponies (11-1) with 14 points, and Jesse Halvorsen and Aaron Hefty each chipped in 11. The Ponies, ranked fifth in Division 5, were without their leading scorer, Bryce Klitzke.
"They knew they would have to take a more prominent role," Olson said of Halvorsen and Hefty. "We follow their energy and lead. It doesn't surprise me that they stepped up their scoring.
"I knew it would be a close game. They are a physical and improving team."
Brodhead (4-8) was led by Danny Lewis who had 15 points, while Ned Slocum added 10.
Southwestern 50, Darlington 40
DARLINGTON - Cold shooting doomed the Darlington boys basketball team, as the Redbirds fell to Southwestern, 50-40.
"We shot 18 percent. That's not very good for a high school basketball team," Darlington coach Mike Hopkins said.
Darlington (5-7, 3-3 SWAL) had its chances to upset the Wildcats (12-1, 6-1).
"As a whole, they didn't shoot that well, either," Hopkins said of Southwestern. "They had some offensive rebounds. So they got some additional shots inside."
Cole McDonald led Darlington with 12 points. One bright spot for the Redbirds was their shooting from the free throw line, converting 18 of 19.
"Tonight was closer than the final score indicates. It's a little frustrating," Hopkins said. We're a little inconsistent with our shooting. We have improved, but we still have a lot of room for improvement."
"I thought we may be a little rusty," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "Early on I thought we might not shoot as well, but the kids came out and performed."
Black Hawk held a 33-22 lead at halftime, before Barneveld outscored the Warriors by 11 in the third to tie the game up going into the final quarter. Barneveld led 54-53 with 30 seconds remaining, but Black Hawk's Seth Butler completed a three-point play with 4.4 seconds left to seal the win for the Warriors.
Butler and Merik Meythaler led Black Hawk (6-1, 4-1 Six Rivers East) with 11 points apiece. Barneveld's Devon Schult knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to a game-high 20 points.
"The kids just held their composure," Manlick said. "They kept on working and capitalizing on each possession offensively. Last year we wouldn't have pulled this game out."
The defeat was Barneveld's first conference loss of the season. Manlick said that knocking off the Eagles was a necessary step for his team to compete for a conference championship.
"I told the kids before the game, if you want to consider yourselves one of the best in conference you have to beat the best," he said. "Barneveld won conference last year and they are always a top team in conference. It's a huge win for us. Hopefully we can keep this going."
Argyle 56, Albany 53
ARGYLE - The Albany boys basketball team picked up its first conference win of the season by knocking off Argyle in a hard-fought Six Rivers East battle, 56-53.
Orioles JV coach Chuck Bredeson said the team gave a tremendous effort given their difficult scheduling.
"We played extremely hard; both teams did. It was a battle," he said. "This was our third game in a row; we played Friday, Monday, and Tuesday. We were in Potosi last night, we didn't get home 'til 11:30. We were worried we'd be tired, but we played probably the hardest out of those three games."
Albany (4-7, 1-4 Six Rivers East) led throughout most of the game, but Argyle (5-7, 2-2) had a couple of chances in the waning seconds to send the game to overtime.
"We were worried we didn't have anything left," Bredeson said. "We got (Albany's lead) down to 3. We ended up getting the ball under our basket with 6 seconds left. We had two looks at threes to tie the game, but we couldn't get either of them to fall."
Isaiah Shell continued his solid season, leading with Comets with 20 points. Tyler Dahl also chipped in 12 for Albany. Mitchell Steiner and Christopher Severson each scored 12 for Argyle, and Pablo Vives led the Orioles with 16.
New Glarus 53, Cambridge 52
NEW GLARUS - After a 1-8 start to the season, it seems the New Glarus boys basketball team might be turning a corner. The Glarner Knights picked up their third win in a row by knocking off Cambridge, 53-52.
New Glarus coach Travis Sysko said he was pleased with his team's effort.
"I thought defensively we did some really good things," he said. "The guys are playing hard right now."
New Glarus (4-8, 2-0 in the Capitol South) led the entire game, but Cambridge pulled to within two points with just 5.7 seconds remaining. The Blue Jays then fouled New Glarus' Caleb Fredrickson, who put the game away with a pair of clutch free throws. Cambridge hit a three at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late.
Senior Spencer Jones led the Knights with 17 points, Gabe Noyce added 16 and Fredrickson chipped in 11.
Sysko was also happy with the defensive play of junior Patrick Elzen.
"Elzen blocked a three-pointer when they were down two. I thought he had an excellent defensive game," Sysko said.
Monticello 40, Brodhead 39
MONTICELLO - Monticello junior Lucas Marty hit a three with a minute left to break a tied ballgame, giving the Ponies a big enough lead to hold off Brodhead, 40-39.
"We got him a good look," Monticello coach Mark Olson said. "We have a lot of confidence when he has the ball in his hands."
Marty led the Ponies (11-1) with 14 points, and Jesse Halvorsen and Aaron Hefty each chipped in 11. The Ponies, ranked fifth in Division 5, were without their leading scorer, Bryce Klitzke.
"They knew they would have to take a more prominent role," Olson said of Halvorsen and Hefty. "We follow their energy and lead. It doesn't surprise me that they stepped up their scoring.
"I knew it would be a close game. They are a physical and improving team."
Brodhead (4-8) was led by Danny Lewis who had 15 points, while Ned Slocum added 10.
Southwestern 50, Darlington 40
DARLINGTON - Cold shooting doomed the Darlington boys basketball team, as the Redbirds fell to Southwestern, 50-40.
"We shot 18 percent. That's not very good for a high school basketball team," Darlington coach Mike Hopkins said.
Darlington (5-7, 3-3 SWAL) had its chances to upset the Wildcats (12-1, 6-1).
"As a whole, they didn't shoot that well, either," Hopkins said of Southwestern. "They had some offensive rebounds. So they got some additional shots inside."
Cole McDonald led Darlington with 12 points. One bright spot for the Redbirds was their shooting from the free throw line, converting 18 of 19.
"Tonight was closer than the final score indicates. It's a little frustrating," Hopkins said. We're a little inconsistent with our shooting. We have improved, but we still have a lot of room for improvement."
