DARLINGTON - The Darlington boys basketball team cruised to a 70-45 win over Lancaster Tuesday, but coach Mike Hopkins isn't satisfied with the Redbirds' defensive effort.
"We were not consistent defensively," Hopkins said. "I talked about effort and desire. I asked them to name one team that has won one championship and hasn't played any kind of defense."
Darlington (5-0, 2-0 SWAL) jumped out to a 17-4 lead over the Flying Arrows in the first 5 minutes. The Flying Arrows then outscored the Redbirds 24-20 the rest of the first half. The Redbirds sealed the win outscoring the Flying Arrows 18-4 in the third quarter.
"It was a matter of getting all five guys to play together with intensity," Hopkins said.
Darlington senior Ben Muhlstein scored a game-high 18 points and hit two of the Redbirds' four 3-pointers. Senior teammate Cole Whalen scored 14 points and senior Cole McDonald added 13 points.
Argyle 53, Monticello 48
MONTICELLO - A late 3-pointer from senior Ben May wasn't enough for the Monticello boys basketball team in a 53-48 loss to Argyle Tuesday.
In a game that saw several ties and lead changes, May's 3-pointer brought the Ponies within two points at 50-48 with 16 seconds left before the Orioles finished the game with a clutch basket and a free throw.
May finished with 17 points to lead the Ponies, who dropped to 1-5, 0-2 Six Rivers East. Junior Logan Marty and sophomore Zach Price scored 14 and eight points, respectively.
Leading the way for Argyle were juniors Riley Otsby and Kyle Emberson, who scored 23 and 14 points, respectively. Senior Colton Ploessl chipped in 11 points.
Pecatonica 78, Albany 46
BLANCHARDVILLE - Sophomore A.J. Hendrickson scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Pecatonica boys basketball team to a 78-46 win over Albany Tuesday in Blanchardville.
Red-hot shooting in the first quarter lifted Pecatonica (5-1, 2-0 Six Rivers East) to a 19-8 advantage in the first quarter. The Comets made a push in the second quarter, but strong play from junior Tyler Wahl helped the Vikings carry a 34-22 advantage into the half.
"In the second (quarter) we tried to make impossible passes," Pecatonica assistant coach Larry Schliem said. "But at the end of the first half, Tyler (Wahl) had six points and made some nice defensive plays that led to fast breaks. That helped us."
Carrying the momentum created by Wahl into the second half, Pecatonica outscored Albany 28-16 in the third quarter with 11 points coming from Hendrickson. The Vikings outscored the Comets 16-8 in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense at the end of the second quarter and in the whole third made the game for us," Schliem said.
Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings were sophomore Logan Green and junior Brooks Chandler, who scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The Comets were led by sophomore Brock Gilkes, who scored 18 points.
Barneveld 61, Juda 36
JUDA - The Juda boys basketball team played toe-to-toe with Barneveld for two quarters Tuesday before Matthew Myers and the Eagles pulled away in a convincing win, 61-36.
Juda (1-3, 0-1 Six Rivers East) trailed by just four at the end of the first quarter and by eight at the end of the half. But behind a game-high 19 points from Myers, the Eagles outscored the Panthers 32-15 in the second half to seal the win.
"Coming out in the second half, they picked up their intensity on defense," Juda coach James Pickett said. "Fast breaks led to points, and that was really the difference in the game."
Brycen Sorensen chipped in 16 points for the Eagles, who climbed to a record of 3-3, 2-0 Six Rivers East.
"Barneveld is a very good program," Pickett said. "They're consistently at the top of the conference, very fundamentally sound.
"One of our goals is to play a complete game for four quarters, and we didn't quite get that done. We need to execute our gameplan and be fundamentally sound."
The Panthers were led by sophomore Matt Schmitt and senior Cory Segner, who scored 19 and 16 points, respectively.
"We were not consistent defensively," Hopkins said. "I talked about effort and desire. I asked them to name one team that has won one championship and hasn't played any kind of defense."
Darlington (5-0, 2-0 SWAL) jumped out to a 17-4 lead over the Flying Arrows in the first 5 minutes. The Flying Arrows then outscored the Redbirds 24-20 the rest of the first half. The Redbirds sealed the win outscoring the Flying Arrows 18-4 in the third quarter.
"It was a matter of getting all five guys to play together with intensity," Hopkins said.
Darlington senior Ben Muhlstein scored a game-high 18 points and hit two of the Redbirds' four 3-pointers. Senior teammate Cole Whalen scored 14 points and senior Cole McDonald added 13 points.
Argyle 53, Monticello 48
MONTICELLO - A late 3-pointer from senior Ben May wasn't enough for the Monticello boys basketball team in a 53-48 loss to Argyle Tuesday.
In a game that saw several ties and lead changes, May's 3-pointer brought the Ponies within two points at 50-48 with 16 seconds left before the Orioles finished the game with a clutch basket and a free throw.
May finished with 17 points to lead the Ponies, who dropped to 1-5, 0-2 Six Rivers East. Junior Logan Marty and sophomore Zach Price scored 14 and eight points, respectively.
Leading the way for Argyle were juniors Riley Otsby and Kyle Emberson, who scored 23 and 14 points, respectively. Senior Colton Ploessl chipped in 11 points.
Pecatonica 78, Albany 46
BLANCHARDVILLE - Sophomore A.J. Hendrickson scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Pecatonica boys basketball team to a 78-46 win over Albany Tuesday in Blanchardville.
Red-hot shooting in the first quarter lifted Pecatonica (5-1, 2-0 Six Rivers East) to a 19-8 advantage in the first quarter. The Comets made a push in the second quarter, but strong play from junior Tyler Wahl helped the Vikings carry a 34-22 advantage into the half.
"In the second (quarter) we tried to make impossible passes," Pecatonica assistant coach Larry Schliem said. "But at the end of the first half, Tyler (Wahl) had six points and made some nice defensive plays that led to fast breaks. That helped us."
Carrying the momentum created by Wahl into the second half, Pecatonica outscored Albany 28-16 in the third quarter with 11 points coming from Hendrickson. The Vikings outscored the Comets 16-8 in the fourth quarter.
"Our defense at the end of the second quarter and in the whole third made the game for us," Schliem said.
Rounding out the scoring for the Vikings were sophomore Logan Green and junior Brooks Chandler, who scored 16 and 12 points, respectively.
The Comets were led by sophomore Brock Gilkes, who scored 18 points.
Barneveld 61, Juda 36
JUDA - The Juda boys basketball team played toe-to-toe with Barneveld for two quarters Tuesday before Matthew Myers and the Eagles pulled away in a convincing win, 61-36.
Juda (1-3, 0-1 Six Rivers East) trailed by just four at the end of the first quarter and by eight at the end of the half. But behind a game-high 19 points from Myers, the Eagles outscored the Panthers 32-15 in the second half to seal the win.
"Coming out in the second half, they picked up their intensity on defense," Juda coach James Pickett said. "Fast breaks led to points, and that was really the difference in the game."
Brycen Sorensen chipped in 16 points for the Eagles, who climbed to a record of 3-3, 2-0 Six Rivers East.
"Barneveld is a very good program," Pickett said. "They're consistently at the top of the conference, very fundamentally sound.
"One of our goals is to play a complete game for four quarters, and we didn't quite get that done. We need to execute our gameplan and be fundamentally sound."
The Panthers were led by sophomore Matt Schmitt and senior Cory Segner, who scored 19 and 16 points, respectively.
