MONTICELLO - With a five-game winning streak at stake, Monticello's senior prowess came through when it was needed most Thursday night.
Jacob Edge hit a 3-pointer that put the Ponies up to stay at 29-28 midway through the final quarter and Ryan Fink scored the last five Monticello points to lock up a 34-30 victory over Pecatonica (6-6, 4-5 Six Rivers East).
The Vikings used a 7-0 run over two minutes late in the third quarter to put their red-hot host against the ropes, but the Ponies (10-4, 8-1) bounced back with the resilience of Rocky Balboa to hold court behind 15 points by Edge.
Teams are having a hard time containing the Monticello southpaws as Edge's 15 come after junior and fellow lefty Brandon Holz scored 22 in a victory over Barneveld on Friday night. Pecatonica was led by Brandon Meudt's eight points.
The Ponies look to make it six in a row when Belmont visits for a non-conference game Saturday. The Vikings travel to former league rival New Glarus on Saturday.
BARNEVELD 62, ALBANY 36
The Comets are getting awfully good at challenging the powers that be for 16 minutes.
However, Thursday night they again fell short as Barneveld erupted in a 42-20 second half to keep within striking distance of Monticello and Black Hawk.
Four Comets (1-12, 0-8 Six Rivers East) scored six or more points and Mike Elmer had a team-high eight, six of which came on a pair of 3-pointers.
Trent Sullivan and Kyle Thompson put together typical performances for the Eagles (9-4, 6-3) with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Comets' search for that elusive first conference win will have to wait as Madison Abundant Life visits for a non-league game Saturday.
NEW GLARUS 57, CAMBRIDGE 41
With shots not falling from the charity stripe, field goals became as precious to the Knights on Thursday as they were to Lawrence Tynes on Sunday.
New Glarus (6-7, 3-4 Capitol South) hit 26 shots from the field to make up for a 3-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Cambridge (1-11, 1-6) kept from being blown out by hitting 10 of 11 shots with the clock stopped.
Junior Jake Bast and senior Cassidy Flannery led the way with 13 and 11 points, respectively, as New Glarus steadily expanded its 28-23 halftime lead.
DARLINGTON 44, SOUTHWESTERN 26
The Redbirds were defensively sound for all 32 minutes Thursday night. The good news is that the offense followed suit in the last 16.
After trailing 18-13 at the break, Darlington (8-5, 4-4) bought its scoring in bulk with an 18-5 third quarter and a 13-3 final frame.
"We hadn't been playing well defensively to the point that we may have focused so much on it and neglected to execute our offense in the first half," Darlington coach Mike Hopkins said.
Southwestern (3-10, 2-6) was led by Mitchell Tranel's 13 points, while Darlington achieved exceptional balance with four players scoring seven or more points, paced by Cody Murray's and Mitchell Erickson's nine points apiece.
Darlington next travels to Boscobel on Tuesday.
Jacob Edge hit a 3-pointer that put the Ponies up to stay at 29-28 midway through the final quarter and Ryan Fink scored the last five Monticello points to lock up a 34-30 victory over Pecatonica (6-6, 4-5 Six Rivers East).
The Vikings used a 7-0 run over two minutes late in the third quarter to put their red-hot host against the ropes, but the Ponies (10-4, 8-1) bounced back with the resilience of Rocky Balboa to hold court behind 15 points by Edge.
Teams are having a hard time containing the Monticello southpaws as Edge's 15 come after junior and fellow lefty Brandon Holz scored 22 in a victory over Barneveld on Friday night. Pecatonica was led by Brandon Meudt's eight points.
The Ponies look to make it six in a row when Belmont visits for a non-conference game Saturday. The Vikings travel to former league rival New Glarus on Saturday.
BARNEVELD 62, ALBANY 36
The Comets are getting awfully good at challenging the powers that be for 16 minutes.
However, Thursday night they again fell short as Barneveld erupted in a 42-20 second half to keep within striking distance of Monticello and Black Hawk.
Four Comets (1-12, 0-8 Six Rivers East) scored six or more points and Mike Elmer had a team-high eight, six of which came on a pair of 3-pointers.
Trent Sullivan and Kyle Thompson put together typical performances for the Eagles (9-4, 6-3) with 17 and 14 points, respectively.
The Comets' search for that elusive first conference win will have to wait as Madison Abundant Life visits for a non-league game Saturday.
NEW GLARUS 57, CAMBRIDGE 41
With shots not falling from the charity stripe, field goals became as precious to the Knights on Thursday as they were to Lawrence Tynes on Sunday.
New Glarus (6-7, 3-4 Capitol South) hit 26 shots from the field to make up for a 3-for-8 performance from the free throw line. Cambridge (1-11, 1-6) kept from being blown out by hitting 10 of 11 shots with the clock stopped.
Junior Jake Bast and senior Cassidy Flannery led the way with 13 and 11 points, respectively, as New Glarus steadily expanded its 28-23 halftime lead.
DARLINGTON 44, SOUTHWESTERN 26
The Redbirds were defensively sound for all 32 minutes Thursday night. The good news is that the offense followed suit in the last 16.
After trailing 18-13 at the break, Darlington (8-5, 4-4) bought its scoring in bulk with an 18-5 third quarter and a 13-3 final frame.
"We hadn't been playing well defensively to the point that we may have focused so much on it and neglected to execute our offense in the first half," Darlington coach Mike Hopkins said.
Southwestern (3-10, 2-6) was led by Mitchell Tranel's 13 points, while Darlington achieved exceptional balance with four players scoring seven or more points, paced by Cody Murray's and Mitchell Erickson's nine points apiece.
Darlington next travels to Boscobel on Tuesday.
