BLACHARDVILLE — The West proved itself the dominant Six Rivers conference, as all seven West teams defeated their respective East opponents on Friday, Feb. 3. The event pits like teams in each conference against one another for the ultimate Six Rivers battle.
Pecatonica drew a familiar foe in Benton. The two teams faced one another on Nov. 22 for the Vikings season opener. The Zephyrs improved since defeating the Vikings 69-58, as Benton cruised to a 74-41 victory.
Benton limited Pecatonica to just 13 points in the first half, split between Jameson Johnson, Tyer McKeon, Ethan Meyering and Coy Ruegsegger. Meanwhile, the Zephyrs received six points each from Chad Brown, Nate Lawrence and Nathan Keleher.
Although the Vikings gathered more momentum in the second half — McKeon going off for 11 points — they were unable to keep up with Brown, who tallied 18 second-half points.
McKeon finished with 15 points, followed by Johnson with 11 points. Ruegsegger had one bucket in each half for four points, while Connor Sass and Gavyn Loomis chipped in three points each. Loomis accounted for Pecatonica’s only 3-pointer. Grady Gordon made a pair of free throws for two points, as Evan Dochnal made just one. Meyering had the final two points.
POTOSI 78, ARGYLE 57
ARGYLE — The first and second halves mirrored each other, as the Chieftains outscored the Orioles 35-22 in each half.
Ike Waage was the dominant force for Argyle in the first half, scoring 11 points with three 3-pointers. He and Potosi’s Sam Udelhofen went toe-to-toe, as the senior tallied 10 points in the first half. The difference came in each man’s support. The Orioles had only three other scorers in the first half, while the Chieftains had six others.
Max Godfrey, who had just four points in the first half, turned it on after halftime. The junior scored 14 points in the second half, including two threes. Udelhofen continued in the second half, though, with 13 more points. He got help from Gavin Wunderlin, who scored 14 points.
When all was said and done, Waage led Argyle with 20 points, making four shots beyond the arc. Godfrey followed with 16 points, including a pair of threes. Mason McNett also reached double figures with 11 points. The remaining offense came from Caden Stoeger (eight points) and Noah Moen (two points).
HIGHLAND 64, BLACK HAWK 47
SOUTH WAYNE — The Cardinals jumped out to a 44-23 lead in the first half, which proved to be the difference in this crossover. Although Black Hawk limited Highland to just 20 points in the second half, the Warriors couldn’t keep pace scoring.
“We couldn’t keep up with the high-scoring first half,” Black Hawk head coach Trent Wyssbrod said. “Highland shot the ball at a very high percentage and that’s tough for us to hang in there when scoring is one of our weaknesses.”
Seth Dunlavey led in both halves, putting up six and 10 points for 16 total. Trae Hagen was the second-highest scorer with nine points. Eli Schliem drained a pair of threes for his six-point total, while Quincy Adams (three points) and Carter Baumgartner (five points) had one each. The Warriors shot 11-for-15 from the free-throw line for 73%, receiving perfect trips to the line from Lane Marty, Dunlavey and Baumgartner.
SHULLSBURG 85, MONTICELLO 59
MONTICELLO — Heath Poppy was the thorn in the Ponies’ side on Friday night, as the junior dropped 35 points with six rebounds and six steals to lead the Miners to victory.
Monticello trailed by just eight at halftime, but Shullsburg pulled away in the second half, scoring 47 points.
Nick Roe led his squad with 18 points. Jackson Eyler trailed with 13 points and a team-best six rebounds. Alex Roe and Ryer Indergand put up 11 points each. On the boards, Alex Roe also snagged six rebounds, while Austin Skibbe grabbed five.
CASSVILLE 73, ALBANY 49
ALBANY — In a battle of Comets, the visitors never trailed, outscoring the host 39-30 and 34-19 in each half.
Albany had three players in double figures, with Kaden Zurfluh tallying a team-high 16 points. He was 4-for-7 from beyond the arc and made all four of his free throws. Brayden Bakken followed with 13 points, shooting 50% from 3-point range with six assists. James Schwartz grabbed a team-best six rebounds with 12 points and a pair of threes. He, too, was perfect at the free-throw line. Ethan Koss was the only other scorer, tallying eight points with two 3-pointers.
Although the host Comets shot better at the charity stripe (86%-63%) and had more second-chance points (10-4) their turnovers (23-9) proved costly, as the visiting Comets scored 30 points from turnovers and 12 in transition.
BELMONT 56, JUDA 40
JUDA — Despite scoring 40 or more points for the third time this season — and second straight game — the Panthers dropped their crossover game on Friday.
Jayden Brown led Juda with 13 points. The second-highest scorer was Erik Woodward with eight points, followed by Blake Adkins with seven. Micheal Hosch chipped in six points, while Braydon Steinmann, Aiden Schadewalt and Hunter Foster tallied two each.
River Ridge also defeated Barneveld 55-48.
