SOUTH WAYNE - The fifth-ranked Black Hawk boys basketball team clinched the Six Rivers East championship with a 47-43 victory over Barneveld Tuesday night.
"It feels great, but it's for the kids, they've worked so hard," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "I like how we kept our compsoure, it was one of those things where we fought through and came down to the kids wanting it just as bad. The kids have worked so hard, and they got what they wanted. But now we gotta go back to the board and keep trying to get better."
Barneveld led after 12-8 after the first quarter and expanded their lead to 22-18 at halftime. Black Hawk outscored the Eagles 14-7 in the third to take a 32-29 lead into the final quarter.
"In the first half, they just outplayed us," Manlick said. "We were pressing ourselves, trying to be too fast at times. Eventually, we were able to adjust our style of play and get back in rhythm. We were able to do much better of taking care of business on the offensive end."
Jeremy Whitish led Barneveld with 14 points. Black Hawk was led by Seth Butler, who scored 16 points. His brother Heath added 10 for the Warriors.
"Seth did a nice job, overall," Manlick said. "He hit some tough shots. He hit a tough three in the first half and a tough jumper early in the fourth. That was a clutch play by him.
"It came down to some free throws at the end. Cuyler Meier had some free throws and a huge three in the fourth quarter that really kinda gave us the momentum."
Black Hawk (18-1, 10-1) wraps up the regular season with games on both Thursday and Friday. Manlick said there are still some areas in which his team needs to see some improvement.
"We just gotta keep getting better," he said. "We can't be breaking down in defensive sets. We gotta start making free throws in some situations where we didn't, that kept the game close. We're just always looking to get better."
Albany 61, Argyle 53
ALBANY - Isaiah Shell scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead an Albany comeback and give the Comets a 61-53 win over Argyle.
Albany trailed 44-38 entering the final period before outscoring the Orioles 23-9 in the fourth to get the win.
"Shell kinda took over in the fourth," said Albany coach Derik Doescher. "We needed our best player to take over, and he did, with 11 in the fourth. We got the ball in his hands and he did some real nice things. It's kinda what we expect when the game's on the line."
Argyle got off to a quick start, leading 19-8 after a quarter of play. Albany came back in the second quarter, though, tying the game up at 28 at halftime. Doescher said the keys in the second were a switch to a 1-3-1 zone and the play of freshman guard Tyler Dahl, who found himself in an unusual position due to it being Senior Night.
"Argyle came ready to play, put up 19 in the first," Doescher said. "We changed it up to a 1-3-1 trapping zone. We really forced some turnovers and got some easy looks in transition.
"Dahl, who's a freshman guard who has been starting for us, came off the bench because it was Senior Night. He had eight in the second, which really sparked us. He really gave us a spark off the bench in an unfamiliar spot for him."
Dahl finished the night with 13 points. He and Shell were joined in double figures by teammate Mitchell Kauk, who also scored 13. Argyle freshman guard Riley Ostby led the Orioles with 22 points. Alec Treuthardt added 10 for Argyle.
Argyle (9-13, 3-8 in the Six Rivers East) concludes their regular season on Friday against Black Hawk. Albany's (9-13, 4-8) regular season came to a close Tuesday night, and the Comets now turn their attention to their playoff matchup with Heritage Christian next Tuesday. Doescher said his team will have to improve defensively if they are going to do some damage in the tournament.
"We didn't come ready right off the bat. We've had a few games like that," he said. "We gotta pick up the defense if we're gonna make a run in the tournament."
Parkview 54, Brodhead 49
ORFORDVILLE - The Brodhead boys basketball team came up on the losing end of a close game with Parkview Tuesday night, losing 54-49.
Parkview led 15-14 after a quarter of play and 24-21 at halftime. Brodhead cut the deficit to one point entering the fourth, but Parkview was able to secure the win with free throws at the end. Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said Parkview's Christian Hobson was a big reason his team came up just short.
"Christian Hobson had 19. Ten of his 19 came in the fourth quarter. He hit two big threes, one was about 8 feet beyond the three point line," said Kammerer. "We cut it cut it to 46-46. We had the ball with a 1:17 left in the game. We missed a shot, they hit a two, and we had to foul."
The Cardinals had three players score in double figures. Griffin Day, Josiah DeLorme, and Ned Slocum each scored 10 points.
Despite the loss, Kammerer said he was happy with his team's defensive performance.
"I thought tonight we finally played defense the way we're capable of," he said. "We stressed to the kids that we gotta get more aggressive. I thought the kids responded well, but you can't flip switch over night. This was a good stepping stone. We're going to try to finish strong and build with some of our younger kids."
Brodhead fell to 4-16 overall and 1-13 in conference. The Cardinals have two more games before starting postseason play.
"We gotta bring that same defensive intensity, maybe even more," he said. "We also have to be more patient offensively to make some good shots. We kinda slowed it down and that helped us tonight. I thought we worked the clock a bit better in this game."
Juda 57, Pec 50
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Juda offense erupted for 24 points in the second quarter of their game with Pecatonica, giving the Panthers all the lead they would need on their way to a 57-50 win over the Vikings.
The teams were tied at 9 after a quarter of play before the Panther offense came alive, outscoring Pec 24-13 in the second, to take a 33-22 lead into halftime.
"They made shots, to put it simply. Nothing overly special," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said of Juda's big second quarter. "They hit five threes in the seecond quarter, including one right before the buzzer. Gotta give credit to them, they just made some shots."
Matt Trotter led a balanced scoring attack for Juda with 15 points. Trotter was joined in double figures by Cody Suiter (12 points) and Cole Bauman (11 points). Pecatonica was led in scoring by Dillon Conwell, who had 18 points.
"Conwell played pretty well," Fink said. "We went to him in the post quite a bit early-on. Juda did a nice job of making him work. They didn't make anything easy."
Juda improved to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in the Six Rivers East. The Panthers host Monticello on Friday. Pecatonica is now 7-14 overall and they are also 3-8 in the Six Rivers East. The Vikings regular season finale is this Friday at Barneveld.
"On defense, we gotta move our feet. Tonight, we were fairly lazy at times defensively," Fink said. "When we decide to play good team 'D', we're a pretty good team. We'll just go out and play and see what happens."
"It feels great, but it's for the kids, they've worked so hard," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "I like how we kept our compsoure, it was one of those things where we fought through and came down to the kids wanting it just as bad. The kids have worked so hard, and they got what they wanted. But now we gotta go back to the board and keep trying to get better."
Barneveld led after 12-8 after the first quarter and expanded their lead to 22-18 at halftime. Black Hawk outscored the Eagles 14-7 in the third to take a 32-29 lead into the final quarter.
"In the first half, they just outplayed us," Manlick said. "We were pressing ourselves, trying to be too fast at times. Eventually, we were able to adjust our style of play and get back in rhythm. We were able to do much better of taking care of business on the offensive end."
Jeremy Whitish led Barneveld with 14 points. Black Hawk was led by Seth Butler, who scored 16 points. His brother Heath added 10 for the Warriors.
"Seth did a nice job, overall," Manlick said. "He hit some tough shots. He hit a tough three in the first half and a tough jumper early in the fourth. That was a clutch play by him.
"It came down to some free throws at the end. Cuyler Meier had some free throws and a huge three in the fourth quarter that really kinda gave us the momentum."
Black Hawk (18-1, 10-1) wraps up the regular season with games on both Thursday and Friday. Manlick said there are still some areas in which his team needs to see some improvement.
"We just gotta keep getting better," he said. "We can't be breaking down in defensive sets. We gotta start making free throws in some situations where we didn't, that kept the game close. We're just always looking to get better."
Albany 61, Argyle 53
ALBANY - Isaiah Shell scored 11 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead an Albany comeback and give the Comets a 61-53 win over Argyle.
Albany trailed 44-38 entering the final period before outscoring the Orioles 23-9 in the fourth to get the win.
"Shell kinda took over in the fourth," said Albany coach Derik Doescher. "We needed our best player to take over, and he did, with 11 in the fourth. We got the ball in his hands and he did some real nice things. It's kinda what we expect when the game's on the line."
Argyle got off to a quick start, leading 19-8 after a quarter of play. Albany came back in the second quarter, though, tying the game up at 28 at halftime. Doescher said the keys in the second were a switch to a 1-3-1 zone and the play of freshman guard Tyler Dahl, who found himself in an unusual position due to it being Senior Night.
"Argyle came ready to play, put up 19 in the first," Doescher said. "We changed it up to a 1-3-1 trapping zone. We really forced some turnovers and got some easy looks in transition.
"Dahl, who's a freshman guard who has been starting for us, came off the bench because it was Senior Night. He had eight in the second, which really sparked us. He really gave us a spark off the bench in an unfamiliar spot for him."
Dahl finished the night with 13 points. He and Shell were joined in double figures by teammate Mitchell Kauk, who also scored 13. Argyle freshman guard Riley Ostby led the Orioles with 22 points. Alec Treuthardt added 10 for Argyle.
Argyle (9-13, 3-8 in the Six Rivers East) concludes their regular season on Friday against Black Hawk. Albany's (9-13, 4-8) regular season came to a close Tuesday night, and the Comets now turn their attention to their playoff matchup with Heritage Christian next Tuesday. Doescher said his team will have to improve defensively if they are going to do some damage in the tournament.
"We didn't come ready right off the bat. We've had a few games like that," he said. "We gotta pick up the defense if we're gonna make a run in the tournament."
Parkview 54, Brodhead 49
ORFORDVILLE - The Brodhead boys basketball team came up on the losing end of a close game with Parkview Tuesday night, losing 54-49.
Parkview led 15-14 after a quarter of play and 24-21 at halftime. Brodhead cut the deficit to one point entering the fourth, but Parkview was able to secure the win with free throws at the end. Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said Parkview's Christian Hobson was a big reason his team came up just short.
"Christian Hobson had 19. Ten of his 19 came in the fourth quarter. He hit two big threes, one was about 8 feet beyond the three point line," said Kammerer. "We cut it cut it to 46-46. We had the ball with a 1:17 left in the game. We missed a shot, they hit a two, and we had to foul."
The Cardinals had three players score in double figures. Griffin Day, Josiah DeLorme, and Ned Slocum each scored 10 points.
Despite the loss, Kammerer said he was happy with his team's defensive performance.
"I thought tonight we finally played defense the way we're capable of," he said. "We stressed to the kids that we gotta get more aggressive. I thought the kids responded well, but you can't flip switch over night. This was a good stepping stone. We're going to try to finish strong and build with some of our younger kids."
Brodhead fell to 4-16 overall and 1-13 in conference. The Cardinals have two more games before starting postseason play.
"We gotta bring that same defensive intensity, maybe even more," he said. "We also have to be more patient offensively to make some good shots. We kinda slowed it down and that helped us tonight. I thought we worked the clock a bit better in this game."
Juda 57, Pec 50
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Juda offense erupted for 24 points in the second quarter of their game with Pecatonica, giving the Panthers all the lead they would need on their way to a 57-50 win over the Vikings.
The teams were tied at 9 after a quarter of play before the Panther offense came alive, outscoring Pec 24-13 in the second, to take a 33-22 lead into halftime.
"They made shots, to put it simply. Nothing overly special," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said of Juda's big second quarter. "They hit five threes in the seecond quarter, including one right before the buzzer. Gotta give credit to them, they just made some shots."
Matt Trotter led a balanced scoring attack for Juda with 15 points. Trotter was joined in double figures by Cody Suiter (12 points) and Cole Bauman (11 points). Pecatonica was led in scoring by Dillon Conwell, who had 18 points.
"Conwell played pretty well," Fink said. "We went to him in the post quite a bit early-on. Juda did a nice job of making him work. They didn't make anything easy."
Juda improved to 6-15 overall and 3-8 in the Six Rivers East. The Panthers host Monticello on Friday. Pecatonica is now 7-14 overall and they are also 3-8 in the Six Rivers East. The Vikings regular season finale is this Friday at Barneveld.
"On defense, we gotta move our feet. Tonight, we were fairly lazy at times defensively," Fink said. "When we decide to play good team 'D', we're a pretty good team. We'll just go out and play and see what happens."
