PLATTEVILLE — The Redbirds and Hillmen battled until the end in a non-conference showdown, with Darlington coming out on top 40-39 on Thursday, Dec. 1. Both teams scored 20 points in the first half, but Darlington’s extra point in the second half proved to be the difference.
Will Murray led the Redbirds with 14 points and six rebounds. Carver Fitzsimons had a team-leading nine rebounds paired with six points. Cannon Lancaster and Broker Buschor chipped in four rebounds each. The Redbirds were 4-for-17 from beyond the arc, with all four baskets coming from different players: Fitzsimons, Buschor, Taggart Gille and Brady Long.
Lucas Ludlum scored 15 points for Platteville with seven rebounds. Zach McClain also scored in double figures with 11 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Garrison Tashner, who had seven points, grabbed six boards for the Hillmen.
The two teams were nearly identical in every statistical category: 14 field goals made, 28 rebounds, 10-9 steals (Darlington-Platteville) and 3-1 blocks. The differences came in free throws and 3-pointers. The Redbirds were just 8-for-18 from the charity stripe, while the Hillmen were 10-for-15. Conversely, Darlington made four 3-pointers, while Platteville made just one.
MONROE 59, ELKHORN 52
MONROE — After coming off the high of winning a state championship, the Monroe boys basketball team — largely comprised of football players — opened its season with a non-conference win on Saturday, Dec. 3.
The Cheesemakers trailed by one point after the first half, but outscored the Elks 33-25 in the second for the win. Combined, the two teams attempted 59 threes. Elkhorn bested Monroe in this category, though, going 11-for-33 from beyond the arc. The Cheesemakers shot six of 26 for 23 percent. The Elks also performed better at the free-throw line, going 9-for-10. Monroe, on the other hand, was 13-for-22.
The difference came from rebounds (42-28) and points in the paint (26-6), which largely favored Monroe.
George Brukwicki scored 21 points to begin his senior basketball season, with over half of those points coming from beyond the arc. He also contributed with eight rebounds. James Seagreaves also started the season hot with a double-double. He scored 17 points and grabbed a team-leading 14 rebounds.
Elkhorn’s top scorers were Payton Moore and Reid Paddock. They totaled 20 and 14 points, respectively, accounting for 10 of the Elks’ 11 3-pointers. Reid and Owen Paddock led the defense, with six and five defensive rebounds, respectively.
MONTICELLO 55, BELMONT 30
MONTICELLO — The Ponies scored in series of runs to defeat Belmont on Thursday, Dec. 1.
Monticello took an early 22-7 lead in the first and closed the half on a 13-4 run for a 35-19 advantage. In the second, the Ponies padded their lead to 23 points before scoring the last eight points for a 25-point victory.
Ryer Indergand led the offense with 15 points, followed by Peyton Smith with 13 points. Nick Roe also chipped in nine points. On the boards, Jackson Eyler led with eight, followed by Smith with four and both Indergand and Ian Schwartzlow with three.
For Belmont, Casin Carey scored 10 points with four rebounds. Carter Kettler chipped in eight points with a team-leading seven rebounds.
BELMONT 47, ALBANY 43
BELMONT — After falling to Monticello, Belmont bounced back the next day for a home win against Albany.
The Comets had a 21-18 lead after the first half. Brayden Bakken drained three 3-pointers and had another bucket for 11 points, while Ethan Koss chipped in a pair of threes, too. Kaden Zurfluh and Drew Sertle contributed the other four points.
On the other side, Aidan Austin had eight first-half points. Logan Hardyman and Carey also chipped in four points each.
Albany improved in the second half, but Belmont did even better. Hardyman put up another six points, while Carter Kettler — who had just two points in the first half — scored six points, as well. Carey was the scorer of the second half, though, with 11 points. He could have had more, as he made just one of his seven free throws. Carey ended the night with a team-leading 15 points.
Koss led the Comet offense with 16 points, followed by Bakken with 13 points. Albany made seven 3-pointers, with four from Koss and the other three from Bakken.
IOWA-GRANT 67, ARGYLE 46
LIVINGSTON — The Orioles couldn’t take advantage of Panther fouls in their road loss on Friday, Dec. 2.
As a team, the Orioles were 9-for-19 at the line for 47 percent. Gavin McNett was 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the first half but was just 1-for-4 in the second, missing two 3-point play opportunities. Ike Waage was 2-for-5 from the line, while Max Godfrey was 1-for-3.
Despite missed opportunities at the charity stripe, Godfrey scored 22 points with all three of Argyle’s 3-pointers. McNett chipped in with 12 points, while Waage scored all eight of his points in the second half.
Three players for Iowa-Grant scored in double digits: Cyle Steffl (24), Ashton Schmitz (18) and Alex Popple (16).
TURNER 80, BRODHEAD 62
BELOIT — Despite having four players score in double figures, Brodhead fell to Turner on Friday, Dec. 2.
The Trojans jumped out to a 37-26 lead in the first half and outscored the Cardinals again in the second half 43-36.
Tyshawn Teague-Johnson led Turner with 25 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. Konner Giddley was the next highest scorer with 17 points. He was 4-for-4 from the free throw line with one 3-pointer. Will Lauterbach was the third scorer in double figures for the Trojans with 13 points.
Cullen Walker put up 16 points, going 2-for-2 at the free throw line with two threes. Jaxon Dooley and Sam Searls totaled 14 apiece with two threes. Dooley went 4-for-6 from the line, while Searls was 2-for-2.
SCALES MOUND 62, NEW GLARUS 59
LENA — Brett Warrell drained seven 3-pointers, but his offensive effort wasn’t enough as the Knights dropped their game against Scales Mound in the Lena-Winslow Jamboree on Saturday, Dec. 3.
New Glarus had a 35-29 lead after the first half, as Warrell scored 19 of his 25 points. In the second half, he slowed, though, and Hornets picked up their pace to just edge out the Knights in the end.
AC Strok scored seven points in the first half, including a 3-point play. He followed that up with 10 points in the second for a grand total of 17. He was 1-for-2 at the free throw line and made two 3-pointers. Jack Roth sank a pair of three with two free throws for eight points, while Jack Leonard also had a pair of 3-pointers for six points. Max Marty added three points.
Thomas Hereau led Scales Mound with 24 points. He was 6-for-7 from the charity stripe with two threes. Hereau’s missed free throw was the only miscue the Hornets had from the free-throw line, as they were a combined 11-for-12. The next highest scorer was Charlie Wiegel with 11 points, nine of which were from beyond the arc.
PECATONICA 52, RIO 34
RIO — Pecatonica defeated Rio on its home court on Saturday, Dec. 3.
The Vikings had a distributed offense with seven different players scoring. Conner Richardson led them all with seven points, followed by Carson Grams and Eric Eku with six each. Sam Hartley led the team with eight rebounds in addition to his five points. Rio went a combined 11-for-17 from the free throw line.
In other local basketball games, Black Hawk fell to Shullsburg.
