JUDA - The Juda boys basketball team in nail-biting fashion withstood a fourth-quarter rally and held on to beat Cassville 45-44 in a Six Rivers Conference Challenge game Thursday night.
Cassville (0-11, 0-7 Six Rivers West) hit a shot with 58 seconds left that tied the score at 44, which erased the Panthers' 10-point fourth-quarter lead.
Juda senior Beau Benner made 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Panthers a 45-44 lead. Juda senior Tyler Pierce, who scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed a defensive rebound on a potential game-winner by Cassville in the waning seconds and was fouled. Pierce missed the free throw, but Benner grabbed the offensive rebound to seal the victory.
With the win, Juda improves to (3-9, 1-4 Six Rivers East). Benner added 11 points for the Panthers.
"You can dwell on the mistakes and what went wrong," Juda coach Andy Werner said. "We made one more play than they did. That is all it takes. We needed that. I couldn't be happier."
The Eastern Division teams won four of seven Challenge games Thursday. Other division winners were Pecatonica, Albany and Barneveld (49-45 over Benton).
PECATONICA 76, BELMONT 64
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Vikings are getting hot at the right time, posting their fourth straight win.
Pecatonica's (6-6, 3-3 Six Rivers East) balanced scoring attack was led by senior Kaleb Feller (26 points), junior Devin Jeglum (14 points) and senior Milton Kurschner (11 points). The Vikings made seven 3-pointers, including three by Feller. The Vikings again were solid from the free throw line, making 15 of 21.
"We got to the rim," Pecatonica coach Jim Syse said. "That opens up outside shots.
"We have fought our way back to .500. That was their goal. Now we have to keep it going."
Belmont dropped to 3-7 (2-3 Six Rivers West).
SHULLSBURG 51, BLACK HAWK 37
SOUTH WAYNE - The Warriors squandered a 33-24 fourth-quarter lead in this Six Rivers Challenge game.
Michael Place scored 18 points for Black Hawk (6-5, 2-2 Six Rivers East).
The Warriors trailed 9-8 after the first quarter before taking a 20-17 lead at halftime.
Place scored seven points in the third quarter, and Black Hawk looked poised for victory.
But Shullsburg (7-5, 3-2 Six Rivers West) upped the pressure in the fourth, scoring 27 points. Brooks Cutes scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the final frame for the Miners.
POTOSI 63, MONTICELLO 45
MONTICELLO - The Ponies faced a tough Six Rivers Challenge test from Potosi, ranked fifth in the Division 4 Associated Press state poll.
The Chieftans (10-1, 5-1 Six Rivers West) used a 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter to open up a 10-point lead. Potosi led 35-22 at halftime and never looked back.
Monticello (7-5, 4-1 Six Rivers East) played its first home game since Dec. 16 and closed the game on a 14-0 spurt. Monticello junior Jacob Marty led the Ponies with 26 points, including four 3-pointers.
ALBANY 39, HIGHLAND 30
ALBANY - The Comets got even scoring throughout their lineup in the rousing Six Rivers Challenge victory.
Jake Lincicum scored a team-high 10 points, Tyler Bauman had eight, Mike Elmer seven, Adam Zurfluh six and T.J. Zweifel and Bryce Hulbert each had four.
Albany (4-6, 1-3 Six Rivers East) took a 24-17 lead into halftime and held Highland (4-8, 2-4 Six Rivers West) to just six points in the third quarter.
Lincicum scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
"He gave us the scoring we will need out of him," Albany head coach Derik Doescher said. "He stepped up and made some shots in the fourth quarter."
The Comets made 3 of 3 free throws in the final 1:30 to preserve the victory.
RIVER RIDGE 41, ARGYLE 34
ARGYLE - The Orioles found themselves in a similar situation, being in the game at halftime (tied 15-15) before faltering in the third quarter. River Ridge outscored the Orioles 11-2 in the period, forcing Argyle to up the ante and shoot lights out.
Despite scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, Argyle could not slow down River Ridge (4-7, 2-3 Six Rivers West).
Andy Bohlman led the Orioles (3-8, 2-4 Six Rivers East) with 14 points and Nate Thomas added nine.
FENNIMORE 69, DARLINGTON 55
FENNIMORE - The Redbirds found themselves in a tough second-half hole, and couldn't dig themselves out.
Fennimore went up on Darlington 15-7 after the first quarter and 33-21 at halftime. By the time the game got to the fourth quarter, the Redbirds were trailing 54-34.
Ethan Pickett scored a team-high 18 points for Darlington. Alex Erickson had 15 and Tanner Havens added eight in the loss.
Cassville (0-11, 0-7 Six Rivers West) hit a shot with 58 seconds left that tied the score at 44, which erased the Panthers' 10-point fourth-quarter lead.
Juda senior Beau Benner made 1 of 2 free throws with 15 seconds left to give the Panthers a 45-44 lead. Juda senior Tyler Pierce, who scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed a defensive rebound on a potential game-winner by Cassville in the waning seconds and was fouled. Pierce missed the free throw, but Benner grabbed the offensive rebound to seal the victory.
With the win, Juda improves to (3-9, 1-4 Six Rivers East). Benner added 11 points for the Panthers.
"You can dwell on the mistakes and what went wrong," Juda coach Andy Werner said. "We made one more play than they did. That is all it takes. We needed that. I couldn't be happier."
The Eastern Division teams won four of seven Challenge games Thursday. Other division winners were Pecatonica, Albany and Barneveld (49-45 over Benton).
PECATONICA 76, BELMONT 64
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Vikings are getting hot at the right time, posting their fourth straight win.
Pecatonica's (6-6, 3-3 Six Rivers East) balanced scoring attack was led by senior Kaleb Feller (26 points), junior Devin Jeglum (14 points) and senior Milton Kurschner (11 points). The Vikings made seven 3-pointers, including three by Feller. The Vikings again were solid from the free throw line, making 15 of 21.
"We got to the rim," Pecatonica coach Jim Syse said. "That opens up outside shots.
"We have fought our way back to .500. That was their goal. Now we have to keep it going."
Belmont dropped to 3-7 (2-3 Six Rivers West).
SHULLSBURG 51, BLACK HAWK 37
SOUTH WAYNE - The Warriors squandered a 33-24 fourth-quarter lead in this Six Rivers Challenge game.
Michael Place scored 18 points for Black Hawk (6-5, 2-2 Six Rivers East).
The Warriors trailed 9-8 after the first quarter before taking a 20-17 lead at halftime.
Place scored seven points in the third quarter, and Black Hawk looked poised for victory.
But Shullsburg (7-5, 3-2 Six Rivers West) upped the pressure in the fourth, scoring 27 points. Brooks Cutes scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the final frame for the Miners.
POTOSI 63, MONTICELLO 45
MONTICELLO - The Ponies faced a tough Six Rivers Challenge test from Potosi, ranked fifth in the Division 4 Associated Press state poll.
The Chieftans (10-1, 5-1 Six Rivers West) used a 12-0 run at the end of the first quarter to open up a 10-point lead. Potosi led 35-22 at halftime and never looked back.
Monticello (7-5, 4-1 Six Rivers East) played its first home game since Dec. 16 and closed the game on a 14-0 spurt. Monticello junior Jacob Marty led the Ponies with 26 points, including four 3-pointers.
ALBANY 39, HIGHLAND 30
ALBANY - The Comets got even scoring throughout their lineup in the rousing Six Rivers Challenge victory.
Jake Lincicum scored a team-high 10 points, Tyler Bauman had eight, Mike Elmer seven, Adam Zurfluh six and T.J. Zweifel and Bryce Hulbert each had four.
Albany (4-6, 1-3 Six Rivers East) took a 24-17 lead into halftime and held Highland (4-8, 2-4 Six Rivers West) to just six points in the third quarter.
Lincicum scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.
"He gave us the scoring we will need out of him," Albany head coach Derik Doescher said. "He stepped up and made some shots in the fourth quarter."
The Comets made 3 of 3 free throws in the final 1:30 to preserve the victory.
RIVER RIDGE 41, ARGYLE 34
ARGYLE - The Orioles found themselves in a similar situation, being in the game at halftime (tied 15-15) before faltering in the third quarter. River Ridge outscored the Orioles 11-2 in the period, forcing Argyle to up the ante and shoot lights out.
Despite scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter, Argyle could not slow down River Ridge (4-7, 2-3 Six Rivers West).
Andy Bohlman led the Orioles (3-8, 2-4 Six Rivers East) with 14 points and Nate Thomas added nine.
FENNIMORE 69, DARLINGTON 55
FENNIMORE - The Redbirds found themselves in a tough second-half hole, and couldn't dig themselves out.
Fennimore went up on Darlington 15-7 after the first quarter and 33-21 at halftime. By the time the game got to the fourth quarter, the Redbirds were trailing 54-34.
Ethan Pickett scored a team-high 18 points for Darlington. Alex Erickson had 15 and Tanner Havens added eight in the loss.
