BLANCHARDVILLE — Despite a slow start — giving up four points early, going 1-for-13 from the free-throw line in the first eight minutes, and trailing by eight midway through the half — Pecatonica rebounded for a 67-52 win over Belmont on Monday, Jan. 22. 

“I credit Belmont. I thought they played a little bit harder than us at times,” Pecatonica head coach Matt Fink said. “They run their stuff really well. We weren’t perfect, but at least we played hard and gave ourselves a chance.”

After winning the tip, Belmont went down and scored on its opening possession. Following a missed shot from Charles Anderson on Pecatonica’s first possession, Carter Kettler grabbed the defensive rebound and took it back for a 4-0 Brave lead less than a minute into the game.

The Vikings attacked the basket, drawing two shooting fouls in a span of 30 seconds but came up empty. Jameson Johnson made up for his 0-for-2 trip to the line with a 3-pointer and contested layup for the 5-4 lead. He had the chance for an and-one but missed.

Belmont regained the lead at 13-11 with a 3-pointer from Wynston Palzkill, who was left wide-open after miscommunication on a screen.

Pecatonica had two opportunities to respond, drawing two more shooting fouls. Once again, the Vikings came up empty. 

“We aren’t an overly phenomenal free-throw shooting team by any means, but that’s an anomaly,” Fink said of his team’s 1-for-13 performance at the free-throw line in the first eight minutes. “At some point, you think you’re going to make something. If we make 70% of those, we feel a lot better about ourselves.”

Belmont’s Gavin Austin took advantage of Viking missed opportunities to extend his team’s lead with back-to-back 3-pointers. Trailing 19-11 with momentum on the Braves’ side, Pecatonica head coach Matt Fink called timeout.

Out of the pause, Connor Sass hit a three with a kickout from Evan Dochnal. Sass then fed Elijah Knutson for another 3-pointer. The Vikings’ free-throw shooting also improved, as Johnson and Tyler McKeon went a combined 3-for-4.

Anderson’s bucket, assisted by McKeon, gave Pecatonica the lead once again — one the Vikings didn’t relinquish the rest of the game. Johnson added on with a putback, and Cohlman Schlimgen capped a 13-0 run with a basket beyond the arc. 

Belmont head coach Beau Buchs called a timeout with his team in a 27-21 hole. The Braves rebounded quickly, getting back within one point with less than a minute left in the half.

Pecatonica squashed any momentum Belmont thought it would take into the locker room, as Dochnal grabbed an offensive board and put it back for two with 19.6 seconds remaining. With a full-court press applied, Johnson intercepted a pass and dished it to McKeon, who went the length of the floor for another two. The small run gave Pecatonica 31-26 lead entering the second frame.

“Basketball is a game of runs. You can never undervalue those four- or five-point runs,” Fink said. “That takes momentum into the half and gives the belief that we can start doing things the right way.”

The energy carried over into the second period, with back-to-back points from Johnson and Anderson. The Vikings’ lead reached double digits on a pair of free throws from Anderson.

“With the past two games I’ve been having, I was a little nervous,” Anderson said of his first-half play. “Once I started to get more settled in, I was relaxed and ready to play.”

Midway through the second frame, Pecatonica’s lead ballooned to 21 points thanks to a 13-3 run on offense and full-court press on defense.

Johnson scored on a jumper from the elbow. Following an empty trip to the line for Kettler, Dochnal scored on a baseline drive. Two possessions later, Dochnal scored again. Johnson gave the Vikings a 48-32 lead on a 3-pointer, with the screen from Dochnal. 

“Shots starting falling in the end, and that’s what pushed us through,” Dochnal said.

McKeon went 1-for-2 at the line following a bench technical, and the Vikings received the ball after. On the side-out play, Johnson scored on a layup from the right side. McKeon capped the 13-3 run with a fast break bucket.

Although Pecatonica’s lead never dipped back to single digits, Belmont’s Bradley Riechers gave it his all. The senior post scored nine of Belmont’s next nine points, including a 3-point play finished at the free-throw line.

“I was worried about how he powered through,” Anderson said of defending Riechers. “I just had to work on his right side and make him go to his left.”

The closest the Braves got was 61-48 on a 3-pointer from Tanner Simons, but Pecatonica’s 13-point lead with just over three minutes left in the game was too much to overcome.

In the final two and a half minutes, the Vikings were 4-for-5 from the line. They finished 11-for-26, overcoming the 1-for-13 start.

Johnson led all scorers with 25 points, 17 of which came in the second half. McKeon added 16 points, going 5-for-7 from the line. Dochnal also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Pecatonica has won its last two Six Rivers Conference East games — 73-61 over Argyle to create a three-way tie for first and 53-32 over Black Hawk — and the crossover victory over Belmont only adds to the momentum. 

The Vikings enter Thursday’s conference contest against Barneveld with confidence. The last time the two teams met in early December, the Eagles dominated the Vikings 74-45. Whoever wins the contest would take control of the Six Rivers East.

“We’ve played pretty well since our loss at Barneveld early in the year,” Fink said. “It’s the right time to start finding our groove, as we get into the last month of the season. The ability to win tonight’s game will have a huge impact as we prepare for Barneveld on Thursday. Spirits will be high.”