ARGYLE - Basketball doesn't have ties. Therefore, one team has to win, and the other lose. In the area's biggest rivalry game, Pecatonica owns bragging rights over Argyle after a 47-36 win Thursday.
To pull out the victory, the Vikings had two things the Orioles didn't - free throws that went in and Wyatt Massey.
"We played good and knocked down our free throws," said Massey, who scored a game-high 17 points.
The two schools have co-ops in football, cross country, track and field and wrestling. But when the players take the court, they are no longer friendly.
"It's definitely our rivalry, even though we know them all by name," Massey said. "It's just fun competing against them. When it gets to playing it's a competitive friendship because we're both going hard."
Thursday's game had its fair share of physical play, which led to free throws. Basketball scholars know that free throws down the stretch can make or break a game, and that's where the Vikings separated themselves. Pecatonica was 10 of 15 from the charity stripe down the stretch while Argyle was just 7 of 17, with three straight coming from junior Jared Johnson.
"They made a lot of free throws," Argyle coach Brandon Bakken said.
The Vikings led by as many as 12 in the third quarter, 29-17, but the Orioles crawled back into the game. Led by Nate Thomas, a 6-foot-5 center who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, Argyle brought the score back to within two points at 30-28 with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the game.
"I was telling the guys that we were only down two and it made no sense to panic. I thought our kids were in panic mode when we were down seven or eight. We told them to stay patient and our press worked well," Bakken said. "Nate had 11 (points) in the second half but he was also 1 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second half. He stepped up and helped us, but we preach getting the ball into the post but if we get the ball in there and don't get results we'll have to try something else."
But Pecatonica hit its free throws and made the plays needed to pick up their second conference win of the season.
"The kids obviously know each other pretty well. It was a physical game. When you play a team that's 10 minutes down the road you know you're going to battle no matter what the records are," Pecatonica coach Kevin Parman said. "But nobody wanted to take that lead early on."
Early on, it appeared the game would be low scoring, as the Vikings led just 4-2 after the first quarter.
"We couldn't find any way to get any offense going. Both teams just struggled shooting," Bakken said. "It's a tough one to swallow because I think the guys deserved better."
Ryan Geissbuhler led Argyle with 13 points, including going 7-for-8 in the game from the stripe. Tanner Kleppe had eight points for Pecatonica.
Parman was mostly pleased with how well his defense played against Thomas. Pecatonica senior Tannar Johnson held Thomas scoreless until the 3:16 mark in the third quarter.
"(Argyle) had some good shots that didn't fall, but we always had a body on somebody. We did a good job initially on defense, but we have to get better on that second shot. We gave up a lot of second chance shots," Parman said.
Pecatonica (3-9, 2-4 Six Rivers East) hits the hardwood again on Tuesday at home against Juda (7-5, 4-2). Argyle (1-9, 0-6) travels to Albany (3-10, 2-4) on Tuesday as well.
To pull out the victory, the Vikings had two things the Orioles didn't - free throws that went in and Wyatt Massey.
"We played good and knocked down our free throws," said Massey, who scored a game-high 17 points.
The two schools have co-ops in football, cross country, track and field and wrestling. But when the players take the court, they are no longer friendly.
"It's definitely our rivalry, even though we know them all by name," Massey said. "It's just fun competing against them. When it gets to playing it's a competitive friendship because we're both going hard."
Thursday's game had its fair share of physical play, which led to free throws. Basketball scholars know that free throws down the stretch can make or break a game, and that's where the Vikings separated themselves. Pecatonica was 10 of 15 from the charity stripe down the stretch while Argyle was just 7 of 17, with three straight coming from junior Jared Johnson.
"They made a lot of free throws," Argyle coach Brandon Bakken said.
The Vikings led by as many as 12 in the third quarter, 29-17, but the Orioles crawled back into the game. Led by Nate Thomas, a 6-foot-5 center who scored all 11 of his points in the second half, Argyle brought the score back to within two points at 30-28 with 4 minutes, 47 seconds left in the game.
"I was telling the guys that we were only down two and it made no sense to panic. I thought our kids were in panic mode when we were down seven or eight. We told them to stay patient and our press worked well," Bakken said. "Nate had 11 (points) in the second half but he was also 1 of 8 from the free-throw line in the second half. He stepped up and helped us, but we preach getting the ball into the post but if we get the ball in there and don't get results we'll have to try something else."
But Pecatonica hit its free throws and made the plays needed to pick up their second conference win of the season.
"The kids obviously know each other pretty well. It was a physical game. When you play a team that's 10 minutes down the road you know you're going to battle no matter what the records are," Pecatonica coach Kevin Parman said. "But nobody wanted to take that lead early on."
Early on, it appeared the game would be low scoring, as the Vikings led just 4-2 after the first quarter.
"We couldn't find any way to get any offense going. Both teams just struggled shooting," Bakken said. "It's a tough one to swallow because I think the guys deserved better."
Ryan Geissbuhler led Argyle with 13 points, including going 7-for-8 in the game from the stripe. Tanner Kleppe had eight points for Pecatonica.
Parman was mostly pleased with how well his defense played against Thomas. Pecatonica senior Tannar Johnson held Thomas scoreless until the 3:16 mark in the third quarter.
"(Argyle) had some good shots that didn't fall, but we always had a body on somebody. We did a good job initially on defense, but we have to get better on that second shot. We gave up a lot of second chance shots," Parman said.
Pecatonica (3-9, 2-4 Six Rivers East) hits the hardwood again on Tuesday at home against Juda (7-5, 4-2). Argyle (1-9, 0-6) travels to Albany (3-10, 2-4) on Tuesday as well.
