SOUTH WAYNE — Black Hawk opened the WIAA Division 5 playoffs with an 84-68 win over Johnson Creek Feb. 26.
Maybe more impressive than the 42-21 halftime lead was the 36 points senior Colby Argall put up — none of which from distance. Black Hawk also got 22 points from senior Conner Meyer, who hit three triples. The warriors were 15 of 29 from the free throw line, the lone blemish in an otherwise solid effort.
Johnson Creek (10-13) could not keep pace with the Warriors (11-11) in the first half. Black Hawk doubled up the visiting Bluejays at the break and held fast in a high-scoring second half. Johnson Creek finished the night with eight 3s and were led by Cole Ducklow (21) and Jamison Richardt (22). Ducklow hit five triples, while Richardt had two.
Black Hawk moves on face second-seeded Rio (19-4) in the regional semifinal scheduled for March 1. An upset win would put the Warriors on the road for the regional final at either Barneveld (15-7) or Cambria-Friesland (17-6) March 2.
Pecatonica 69, Madison Country Day 28
BLANCHARDVILLE — Four Vikings reached double figures in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal win Feb. 26.
Bo Hendrickson led Pecatonica with 14 points, while Jaden Hendrickson finished with 11 and Colton Schraepfer and Javin Mabin each had 10. Everett Johnson (9), Carter Ruegsegger (7), Zack Eaton (5) and Trevor Gilbertson (3) also scored for the Vikings.
Pecatonica (17-6) jumped out to a monster 40-6 lead first half against Country Day (6-16) to put the game away.
Up next for the Vikings is Fall River, with a potential regional final against Monticello or No. 1 Randolph.
Monticello 67, Central Wisconsin Christian 35
MONTICELLO — The Ponies got off to a slow start in the WIAA Division 5 regional quarterfinals Feb. 26, only to find their groove in the second half and run away into the second round.
Leading by just one point at the half, 19-18, Monticello (13-10) found itself needing to make adjustments. The result was a 48-17 run against CWC (12-11) in the final 18 minutes that kept the season alive for another game.
Senior Jeffrey Ace had 10 points for Monticello, while junior Reece Rufer scored 18 and sophomore Peter Gustafson finished with 22. Gustafson and Rufer combined for 29 points in the second half, while Ace added eight in the frame.
Up next for the Ponies is the state’s top-ranked team, unbeaten Randolph (22-0). Should Monticello pull off an upset, the Ponies would play in the regional final against either Fall River (14-9) or Pecatonica (17-6).
Fall River 57, Argyle 44
FALL RIVER — The 12th-seeded Orioles (6-17) held tough against the No. 5 seed, going into halftime tied at 25.
But Fall River (14-9) pulled away in the second half to advance out of the first round of the WIAA Division 5 playoffs Feb. 26.
Tanner Lieventhal and Jared Klein each scored 17 for the Pirates.
Rio 92, Juda 38
RIO — Brandon Row scored 30 points to lead the Vikings, which also received 22 from Nathan Rippl and 10 from Jacob Rowe in a Division 5 regional quarterfinal win over the Panthers Feb. 26.
Juda (1-22) trailed 44-21 at the end for the first half and was outscored in the second half 44-17. Rio (19-4) is the 10th-ranked team in Division 5.
Brodhead 78, Montello 60
BRODHEAD — The seventh-seeded Cardinals (6-17) jumped out to a 13-point lead at halftime and didn’t let up in the second half of their WIAA Division 4 regional quarterfinal Feb. 26.
Brodhead’s defense bottled down much of the Hilltoppers (5-18) attack, allowing just two players to reach double figures — Dononvan Kendall (17) and Hunter Jones (10).
The Cardinals advance to play second-seeded Belleville (9-11) in a regional semifinal March 1, with a potential date with either Markesan (10-11) or Cambridge (5-18) in the regional final March 2.
Other scores:
Cambria-Friesland 85, Albany 77
