BRODHEAD - In a battle for Rock Valley South supremacy, the Brodhead boys basketball team turned up its defensive pressure by challenging shots and ran away with a 56-42 win over Orfordville Parkview.
With the win Monday night, Brodhead (6-4, 3-3 Rock Valley South) won the first round and has a half-game lead on Parkview (4-5, 2-3) in the race for a conference title.
Parkview junior Nick Melton, the Vikings' leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, was limited to just nine points by Brodhead senior Micah Wallace and the Cardinals.
"I can't say enough about the defense Micah played on Melton," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "Without a doubt that (defense) has been our weakness all year."
The Cardinals opened with an 11-0 first-quarter run highlighted by an offensive rebound and putback by sophomore Nick Jacobson. Jacobson converted the conventional three-point play at the free throw line to give Brodhead an 11-0 lead.
"We just came out on fire on defense," Brodhead sophomore J.J. Panoske said. "Micah did a really good job on Melton. He shut him down. That is really the reason we won."
Panoske scored 14 points and had nine rebounds and seven blocks. Brodhead senior Ryan Miller also had 14 points, and junior Jacob Cole added 12.
In the second quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead with a 12-3 run. The spurt was ignited by Wallace's 3-pointer that gave the Cardinals an 18-7 lead. Cole nailed a 3-pointer and Panoske made a jumper. Miller capped the run with an offensive rebound and putback that gave the Cardinals a 27-10 lead.
"We played great 'D'," Miller said. "We were making shots. Everyone was crashing the boards."
Wallace clamped down on Melton and limited him to two first-half points on 1-for-8 shooting. The Vikings' offense sputtered in the first half and shot just 6-for-22 (27 percent). It helped with Panoske blocking shots.
"J.J. played well," Kammerer said. "I think he knows he can get better."
The Vikings chipped away at the Cardinals' 33-16 halftime lead in the second half. Brodhead had 11 of its 12 turnovers in the second half with four coming in the third quarter.
"(Parkview) stepped up their play," Kammerer said. "We have to be more disciplined. We have to be stronger with the ball. We weren't strong. We were making lazy passes."
That changed in a hurry. Panoske drilled a 3-pointer and drove to the basket and pulled up to nail a jumper, ballooning the Cardinals' lead to 40-20.
The Vikings made a surge late when Melton made a shot on the break and was fouled. He converted the three-point play at the foul line to cut the score to 45-33. Parkview cut the Cardinals' lead to 47-36 with a basket down low with 3 minutes, 58 seconds to go. Parkview wouldn't get any closer the rest of the way and were forced to foul.
The Cardinals made 9 of 14 free throws in the last 3:33 to seal the game.
With the win Monday night, Brodhead (6-4, 3-3 Rock Valley South) won the first round and has a half-game lead on Parkview (4-5, 2-3) in the race for a conference title.
Parkview junior Nick Melton, the Vikings' leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, was limited to just nine points by Brodhead senior Micah Wallace and the Cardinals.
"I can't say enough about the defense Micah played on Melton," Brodhead coach Brian Kammerer said. "Without a doubt that (defense) has been our weakness all year."
The Cardinals opened with an 11-0 first-quarter run highlighted by an offensive rebound and putback by sophomore Nick Jacobson. Jacobson converted the conventional three-point play at the free throw line to give Brodhead an 11-0 lead.
"We just came out on fire on defense," Brodhead sophomore J.J. Panoske said. "Micah did a really good job on Melton. He shut him down. That is really the reason we won."
Panoske scored 14 points and had nine rebounds and seven blocks. Brodhead senior Ryan Miller also had 14 points, and junior Jacob Cole added 12.
In the second quarter, the Cardinals extended their lead with a 12-3 run. The spurt was ignited by Wallace's 3-pointer that gave the Cardinals an 18-7 lead. Cole nailed a 3-pointer and Panoske made a jumper. Miller capped the run with an offensive rebound and putback that gave the Cardinals a 27-10 lead.
"We played great 'D'," Miller said. "We were making shots. Everyone was crashing the boards."
Wallace clamped down on Melton and limited him to two first-half points on 1-for-8 shooting. The Vikings' offense sputtered in the first half and shot just 6-for-22 (27 percent). It helped with Panoske blocking shots.
"J.J. played well," Kammerer said. "I think he knows he can get better."
The Vikings chipped away at the Cardinals' 33-16 halftime lead in the second half. Brodhead had 11 of its 12 turnovers in the second half with four coming in the third quarter.
"(Parkview) stepped up their play," Kammerer said. "We have to be more disciplined. We have to be stronger with the ball. We weren't strong. We were making lazy passes."
That changed in a hurry. Panoske drilled a 3-pointer and drove to the basket and pulled up to nail a jumper, ballooning the Cardinals' lead to 40-20.
The Vikings made a surge late when Melton made a shot on the break and was fouled. He converted the three-point play at the foul line to cut the score to 45-33. Parkview cut the Cardinals' lead to 47-36 with a basket down low with 3 minutes, 58 seconds to go. Parkview wouldn't get any closer the rest of the way and were forced to foul.
The Cardinals made 9 of 14 free throws in the last 3:33 to seal the game.
