BLANCHARDVILLE — Coming off an emotional loss to rival Black Hawk, the Pecatonica Vikings vented their frustrations against River Ridge Dec. 17, winning 73-59.

“I think that’s the best part about sports is after a tough night you get to be right back out there,” Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said. “We weren’t great by any means, but I thought offensively our energy was better. We’ve got to be a little better on defense. I think we’ll get to that point.”

The win was also No. 100 for Fink’s time as varsity head coach.

“I think it’s more of a reflection of the kids and the teams that have come through here the last seven years,” said Fink, who spent 13 years as a JV coach and is now in his seventh year at the varsity helm in Blanchardville. “This is a great community, an amazing school district and amazing kids. And that’s how you’re able to accomplish things like that. But we’re more interested in team things going forward. But it’s just a number.”

Against Black Hawk (2-3, 2-1 Six Rivers East), it was Pecatonica’s shooting touch that failed to show up. But against River Ridge, the deep ball was on full display. The Vikings (6-2, 2-1) hit six 3-pointers in the game, including four from Carter Ruegsegger, who went 0-for-everything from deep against the Warriors four days prior.

“When Carter hits open shots it opens up layups, it opens up Zack (Eaton), it opens up everyone we have on the team. Him knocking down shots is great for us,” senior guard Colton Schraepfer said.

Ruegsegger finished with 21 points to lead the Vikings in scoring. Schraepfer had 16, Jaden Hendrickson had 14 and Zack Eaton and Bo Hendrickson each had eight.

“I thought our bigs not only did a good job of scoring, but of finding cutters. I thought Zack and Bo both contributed to that, and they both had eight (points). If you’re getting that out of your front court and combining that with Carter’s shooting and Colton and Jaden’s guard play, it gives us a chance every night,” Fink said.

Pecatonica set the pace from the opening tip-off, perfectly executing a set play where Ruegsegger caught the top just outside the circle and flipped to a streaking Schraepfer for an easy layup just three seconds into the contest. Ruegsegger and Jaden Hendrickson would bury back-to-back 3s a minute later to make it 8-2.

River Ridge (2-3) didn’t give up, however. Colton Clark scored eight of his 14 points in the first half and Cole Crubel had 9 of his game-high 25 in the opening 18 minutes to help keep things close. River Ridge took a brief 12-10 lead with 12:25 left in the first before Pecatonica tore off on an 11-2 run, and then the Wildcats closed the gap back to 3 minutes later at 28-25. The Vikings re-aligned the ship and went into halftime with a 38-30 advantage.

“Credit to River Ridge because I thought they were really scrappy,” Fink said.

In the second half the Vikings didn’t slow down. Ruegsegger had 14 points and three 3s, going shot-for-shot with Crubel during the first six minutes. River Ridge could never bring the score closer than eight in the entire half, and with 4:47 to play the Vikings took their biggest lead of the night at 66-50 following Ruegsegger’s final 3.

“He’s very capable of that, and credit to the other guys on the team for finding him. Those are the shots that they were giving us and he’s got to be able to knock those down,” Fink said.

Despite the double-digit win, points and possessions were left behind by the fast-paced Vikings. Schraepfer, the floor leader and heart of the team, acknowledged that his pace of play can sometimes be detrimental.

“Sometimes I get out of control and sometimes Coach Fink has to tell me to slow down. When I get going too fast, I can turn over the ball, but it works out for us sometimes — it’s kind of a win-lose situation,” Schraepfer said.

“I’ve said this, that’s the good and the bad with coaching high school kids — you love the instincts and you love the motor and all of that, but you could do without some of the other stuff. You take what he gives you, because he’s going to give you what he’s got — and that’s 100 percent,” Fink said. “We’re going to win with him going 100 miles per hour or we’re going to lose with him going 100 miles per hour.”

Outside of Ruegsegger’s hot hand, perhaps the biggest difference in the night was the post play by the Vikings. Bo Hendrickson and Eaton grabbed offensive and defensive boards and spent stretches finding the other cutting to the hoop for an easy layup. Hendrickson cut baseline three different times while Eaton had a pair of reverse layups. Everett Johnson got into the mix two with open looks and assists.

“For them to control the boards for us, finding me or slingshot-ting out and finding us in spots is great for us. Having the big guys control the boards — there’s nothing greater than that,” Schraepfer said.

The Vikings were scheduled to travel to Fennimore (6-2) Dec. 21 and then are off until a Jan. 3 home game against conference leader Monticello (4-2, 2-0).

“This was a good rebound win for us and I hope it keeps it going forward,” Fink said.