ARGYLE — Boys basketball playoffs began Tuesday, Feb. 28 with a bang, as 13 lower-seeded teams upset their higher-ranked opponents (excluding 8/9 matchups). Unfortunately, No. 6-seeded Argyle was on the wrong end of one of these games, falling to No. 11-seeded Catholic Central 64-61.
Catholic Central had a two-point advantage at halftime and outscored Argyle by one point in the second half, too.
Evan Krien was the spark for the Hilltoppers, recording a double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Conversely, Will Helfvogt was Argyle’s leading scorer with 21 points and seven rebounds. Ike Waage also scored in double figures with 18 points and a team-best 9 rebounds. He and Helfvogt accounted for all four of the Orioles’ 3-pointers. Max Godfrey was the third player in double figures for Argyle, putting up 14 points.
Argyle ended its season 11-14 overall and 9-3 in the Six Rivers East Conference for a second-place finish.
CAMBRIA-FRIESLAND 66, MONTICELLO 62
CAMBRIA — Senior Jackson Eyler did everything in his power to extend his final basketball season, putting up 25 points, but his and the Ponies’ efforts fell just short against the Hilltoppers.
Monticello and Cambria-Friesland exchanged the lead three times early on, but the Hilltoppers took the lead for good at 11-10 on a basket from Drake Burmania. The Ponies got as close as two points, 53-51, with just over five minutes left in the game, but Cambria-Friesland held on for the win.
Eyler paced Monticello with 25 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Peyton Smith and Ryer Indergand also scored in double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively. On the boards, Indergand grabbed six rebounds, followed by Alex Roe with four.
Monticello concluded its season with an 8-16 overall record and 6-6 in the Six Rivers East. The Ponies won their final four conference games against Juda, Black Hawk, Pecatonica and Albany to finish in the middle of the pack.
SALAM 60, ALBANY 43
MILWAUKEE — Brayden Bakken gave the Comets a 10-8 lead in the first half with his steal for two points, but the Stars went on a 20-6 run to close out the half. From then on, Salam never trailed in its regional quarterfinal win.
Ahmad Badwan proved troublesome for Albany, as the junior scored 36 points with 18 rebounds. Conversely, Bakken led the Comets with 12 points, going 10-for-13 from the charity stripe. On the boards, Gage Roth grabbed a team-best seven rebounds.
Albany shot 76% from the free-throw line, as Drew Sertle and Nate Stokstad were perfect in their attempts. As a team, the Comets made three 3-pointers with one each from Kaden Zurfluh, Cody Pryce and Sertle.
In his first year as head coach, Kurt Soderberg led his team to a 5-20 overall record and 3-9 mark in the Six Rivers East Conference. Senior Ethan Koss was the team’s leading scorer, averaging 8.4 ppg. In 13 games, James Schawrtz averaged 6.5 rebounds to pace the Comets.
FALL RIVER 85, JUDA 32
FALL RIVER — The Panthers couldn’t overcome a 53-22 first-half deficit, as they fell to the top-seeded Pirates. In the final week of rankings, Fall River earned the No. 5 spot in Division 5 with a 21-3 record.
Aiden Schadewaldt and Jayden Brown scored nine points each to pace Juda. Brown, just a freshman, led the team this season in both points (7.6 ppg) and rebounds (4.3 rpg).
Juda ended its season with a 0-25 overall record. In the previous five years, the Panthers have amassed a 12-119 record. Their last winning season was in 2016-17, where head coach James Pickett led Juda to a 15-9 mark.
EVANSVILLE 76, BRODHEAD 59
EVANSVILLE — Two weeks made little difference in the third meeting of the Cardinals and Blue Devils, as Evansville came away with a win in the regional quarterfinals. Evansville swept Brodhead in the regular season by scores of 71-48 on Jan. 3 and 76-61 on Feb. 14.
The Cardinals had three players reach double digits, led by Cullen Walker with 21 points. Gabe Bockhop, who got the start in the second half, recorded 14 points, while Jaxon Dooley tallied 16 points. The trio accounted for all of Brodhead’s baskets beyond the arc, as Walker made three, Bockhop two and Dooley one.
Brodhead finished the season with a 7-18 overall record and 5-13 mark in the Rock Valley. The Cardinals started their season at 4-3 but entered a tough stretch in conference from which they couldn’t recover. Walker and Dooley led the offense with 17.6 and 13.0 ppg, respectively, while Brody Riese and Nathan Engen 8.1 and 6.8 rebounds per game.
