JUDA - It's been a long time coming for Pecatonica junior Colton Schraepfer. The last time Schraepfer rode on a bus to compete in a game he broke his collarbone in a football game at Potosi-Cassville.
Schraepfer enjoyed the reunion with some of his teammates scoring a game-high 21 points in his debut on the hardwood to lead Pecatonica to a 68-44 win over Juda Tuesday.
"The last time I rode the bus to Potosi-Cassville it didn't work out very well," Schraepfer said. "I was a little nervous. It's been a while. I haven't been able to scrimmage with the guys. It's been tough sitting on the bench."
Pecatonica (2-1, 1-0 Six Rivers East) made it tough on the Panthers opening the game on a 12-2 run. Vikings junior Carter Ruegsegger drilled a 3-pointer and scored six of his 13 points during the surge to spark his team.
Pecatonica senior Evan Prust scored 13 points and sophomore Bo Hendrickson added 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior teammate Zack Eaton chipped in 8 points and 10 boards.
"I think our attack and our defense were on point," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said. "That kind of set the tone. I think instead of relying on one guy to score like A.J. Hendrickson, who was a great scorer last year, we have a lot of guys who can score in different ways whether it's off the dribble, on an offensive rebound, putback or a 3-point
er. I thought it was a good win against a quality opponent. It's still a work in progress. We have a lot of pages still to write."
Juda senior Keagen Haffele converted a three-point play to cut the Vikings' lead to 17-10 with 8 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half. That's as close as Juda (1-3, 0-1) would get. The Vikings went on a 7-0 spurt to build a 14-point lead. Schraepfer had a three-point play and Prust knocked down a jumper to give the Vikings a 22-10 lead with 7:26 left in the half. Hendrickson scored on a putback to extend the Vikings' lead to 24-10 with 6:38 to go.
Pecatonica used its size to grab 15 offensive rebounds in the game that led to a lot of second-chance scoring opportunities. The Panthers were also plagued by 17 turnovers in the game.
"Turnovers lead to offense for the other team," Juda coach Kurtis Mansfield said. "That is how they built their lead up to 15-plus. Pec was able to get those 50-50 balls we didn't get. It showed up in the offensive rebounds and putbacks. Pec just out-hustled us."
Pecatonica switched to a 1-2-2 zone after Schraepfer picked up two fouls in the first half with about 8 minutes to go. The Vikings built a 16-point lead at the half, 34-18.
Fink said switching to the 1-2-2 zone was a combination of trying to stay out of foul trouble and an effort to give the Panthers a different look.
Haffele, who entered the game averaging 27 points per game, was limited to 10 points. Juda senior Cole Fortney also added 10 points.
"When Colton got two fouls we switched to it (zone) and we stayed in it longer than we were going to because it was effective," Fink said.
Mansfield credited the Vikings for the defense they played against Haffele.
"Keagen is a high percentage shooter," Mansfield said. "He's shooting about 60 percent this year. We need to get the ball in his hands. Pec did a good job of running two guys out at him and making him pass it. We have to run our offense through him. We have to look to play more uptempo and get a shot off in 10 seconds. If we get in the halfcourt, we will not score the basketball."
Pecatonica put the game away with a 26-9 run to start the second half. Ruegsegger buried a 3-pointer, Prust scored on a layup and Schraepfer had a three-point play to help the Vikings take a 25-point lead, 47-23. Eaton then scored on a layup and Hendrickson scored down low as the Vikings' lead ballooned to 53-26 with 12:52 left in the half. Hendrickson banked in a jumper and Schraepfer later sank two free throws for their largest lead of 33 points, 60-27 with 10:37 to go.
Schraepfer said the Vikings' defense and offensive rebounding were keys in the victory.
"Switching to that 1-2-2 zone really helped," he said. "We got our hands up and played good 'D'. It's really nice when I get to the basket having the big guys clean it up if I don't make it."
Schraepfer enjoyed the reunion with some of his teammates scoring a game-high 21 points in his debut on the hardwood to lead Pecatonica to a 68-44 win over Juda Tuesday.
"The last time I rode the bus to Potosi-Cassville it didn't work out very well," Schraepfer said. "I was a little nervous. It's been a while. I haven't been able to scrimmage with the guys. It's been tough sitting on the bench."
Pecatonica (2-1, 1-0 Six Rivers East) made it tough on the Panthers opening the game on a 12-2 run. Vikings junior Carter Ruegsegger drilled a 3-pointer and scored six of his 13 points during the surge to spark his team.
Pecatonica senior Evan Prust scored 13 points and sophomore Bo Hendrickson added 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior teammate Zack Eaton chipped in 8 points and 10 boards.
"I think our attack and our defense were on point," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said. "That kind of set the tone. I think instead of relying on one guy to score like A.J. Hendrickson, who was a great scorer last year, we have a lot of guys who can score in different ways whether it's off the dribble, on an offensive rebound, putback or a 3-point
er. I thought it was a good win against a quality opponent. It's still a work in progress. We have a lot of pages still to write."
Juda senior Keagen Haffele converted a three-point play to cut the Vikings' lead to 17-10 with 8 minutes, 53 seconds left in the first half. That's as close as Juda (1-3, 0-1) would get. The Vikings went on a 7-0 spurt to build a 14-point lead. Schraepfer had a three-point play and Prust knocked down a jumper to give the Vikings a 22-10 lead with 7:26 left in the half. Hendrickson scored on a putback to extend the Vikings' lead to 24-10 with 6:38 to go.
Pecatonica used its size to grab 15 offensive rebounds in the game that led to a lot of second-chance scoring opportunities. The Panthers were also plagued by 17 turnovers in the game.
"Turnovers lead to offense for the other team," Juda coach Kurtis Mansfield said. "That is how they built their lead up to 15-plus. Pec was able to get those 50-50 balls we didn't get. It showed up in the offensive rebounds and putbacks. Pec just out-hustled us."
Pecatonica switched to a 1-2-2 zone after Schraepfer picked up two fouls in the first half with about 8 minutes to go. The Vikings built a 16-point lead at the half, 34-18.
Fink said switching to the 1-2-2 zone was a combination of trying to stay out of foul trouble and an effort to give the Panthers a different look.
Haffele, who entered the game averaging 27 points per game, was limited to 10 points. Juda senior Cole Fortney also added 10 points.
"When Colton got two fouls we switched to it (zone) and we stayed in it longer than we were going to because it was effective," Fink said.
Mansfield credited the Vikings for the defense they played against Haffele.
"Keagen is a high percentage shooter," Mansfield said. "He's shooting about 60 percent this year. We need to get the ball in his hands. Pec did a good job of running two guys out at him and making him pass it. We have to run our offense through him. We have to look to play more uptempo and get a shot off in 10 seconds. If we get in the halfcourt, we will not score the basketball."
Pecatonica put the game away with a 26-9 run to start the second half. Ruegsegger buried a 3-pointer, Prust scored on a layup and Schraepfer had a three-point play to help the Vikings take a 25-point lead, 47-23. Eaton then scored on a layup and Hendrickson scored down low as the Vikings' lead ballooned to 53-26 with 12:52 left in the half. Hendrickson banked in a jumper and Schraepfer later sank two free throws for their largest lead of 33 points, 60-27 with 10:37 to go.
Schraepfer said the Vikings' defense and offensive rebounding were keys in the victory.
"Switching to that 1-2-2 zone really helped," he said. "We got our hands up and played good 'D'. It's really nice when I get to the basket having the big guys clean it up if I don't make it."
