BLANCHARDVILLE — Despite sweeping the Warriors in the regular season, Pecatonica fell to Black Hawk 58-55 in the 2022-23 playoffs. The Vikings came into their Six Rivers East conference opener with fresh minds, handing the Warriors a 72-25 loss.
“Any time you play teams in the conference, the games mean a little bit more. We mentioned it (the loss) but we didn’t really talk about it a lot,” Pecatonica head coach Matt Fink said. “There’s new kids on both sides. It’s still Black Hawk, so you’re going to put your best foot forward.”
Although Pecatonica came out on top, they trailed for the first seven minutes of the game. Andrew Figi opened with a bucket on Black Hawk’s first possession, and Eli Schliem extended the lead to 9-5 with a pair of free-throws and a 3-pointer.
Glenn Jayne tied the game at nine with a bucket and gave the Vikings a 10-9 lead with his and-one. From there, Pecatonica never looked back. Jayne’s 3-point play sparked a 16-point run. During the stretch, Evan Dochnal’s steal and subsequent bucket gave the Vikings a 10-point lead, 19-9.
Just over three minutes later, Pecatonica extended its lead to 20 points. Jameson Johnson went to the line for double bonus and made both of his shots for the 31-11 advantage.
As the half came to a close, Charles Anderson scored six straight points for Pecatonica, including an offensive putback. Tyler McKeon’s free throw with 47.6 seconds left gave the Vikings a 30-point lead, 44-14.
Although Black Hawk’s Griffin Komprood responded with his own successful trip to the charity stripe, Cohlman Schlimgen padded the lead back 30 points with a jumper. At the buzzer, McKeon scored on a layup for a 48-15 lead going into the locker room.
Just as he did to start the second half, Figi tallied the first points in the second frame. He scored through contact and made the subsequent and-one.
Figi’s hot start failed to resuscitate his team, as Pecatonica responded with a 14-point run. McKeon assisted Dochnal for two, followed by back-to-back baskets from Johnson. Cohlman’s jumper gave the Vikings a 58-18 lead, starting the running clock.
Black Hawk managed seven points in the final 11 minutes, four of which came from Brycen Wilson.
Pecatonica used the 40-point lead and running clock to sub in its bench, where Wyatt McGowan banked a 3-pointer. Cole Phillips then ended the game with a 1-for-2 trip to the free-throw line.
Jameson Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, going 6-for-12 from the charity stripe. McKeon tallied 12 points, while Anderson chipped in 11.
Figi paced the Warriors with eight points. As a team, Black Hawk was 8-for-11 from the line (72.7%).
