BLANCHARDVILLE - In Jim Syse's simulated environment, the Vikings survived a thrilling first-round WIAA Division 4 battle with Juda on Monday night, 61-58.

The Pecatonica coach is preaching a "one and done" mentality during a week that plays out, schedule-wise, like the first round of the postseason.

Perhaps feeling the season pressed against the proverbial ropes, Pecatonica (7-9, 5-6 Six Rivers East) dropped the clutch to force overtime and was cold-blooded in the extra session to lock down a badly-needed Six Rivers East victory.

"This is our regional week," Pecatonica coach Jim Syse said. "Tonight's our quarterfinal. Thursday's our regional semifinal and Saturday's our regional final. That's the mindset our guys have to have this week. If you don't win, you don't play anymore. If you think that way, you should get jacked."

Kaleb Feller wholeheartedly subscribed to his coach's method as he hit the 3-ball from the right of the half-circle that forced overtime off a kickout by his senior captain, Brandon Meudt, with about 20 seconds to play.

Juda's fearless captain, Kurtis Mansfield, nearly countered seconds later as he challenged Meudt along the basline and appeared to draw contact as he flew to the deck but only heard his fans' jeers instead of an official's whistle.

"It's tough to have a contact play when you feel like you could've won the game," Mansfield said. "But you've gotta keep going, get a steal on defense or something."

Pecatonica senior Drew Moen, who hit four triples in the first 23 minutes and scored 13 points in the second quarter, showed his Gary Payton-like post-up skills as he opened the bonus session by catching a pass in the left block and allowing the traffic to clear before he put the ball on the floor and took Mansfield with him to the tin for two.

"The main thing is being patient," Moen said. "A lot of guys get the ball down there and just throw it up. If you're not in the lane, let your cutters cut and take what opens up."

Moen had a game-high 20 points and Juda's leading scorer, Beau Benner (18 points; 7 in the fourth quarter) answered with a pullup before Kurschner untied things for the last time with a triple from the corner with 1:52 left.

Feller continued to sizzle after going scoreless in the first half as he hit four bonus free throws in overtime. Mansfield was not to be turned away, as he pulled up and hit an off-balance, physics-denying clothesline 3-pointer to make the score 60-58 with 18.3 glowing on the scoreboard.

"Something acrobatic like that always gets the guys fired up," Mansfield said.

"He does some amazing stuff," Juda head coach Andy Werner said. "He's a hard worker and a competitor and he really makes us go."

Panthers junior Tyler Pierce nearly made his club go to another 4-minute frame, but his buzzer-beating, 25-foot attempt went halfway home before popping out as the entire gym held its collective breath.

Moen had his fingerprints all over the second quarter. After Juda sprung a 9-0 run at the start of the period, Moen ended it with a backspin-heavy long bomb and capped Pec's half-closing 12-5 run with an athletic, one-handed runner off glass as the buzzer sounded.

That made the halftime deficit just 23-21 and Brandon Meudt gave the Vikes their first lead at 24-23 with a triple since they were up 3-2 on his first rainmaker.

The Panthers have been riding a veritable rollercoaster as of late, having won back-to-back games, including a 57-48 win over Beloit Turner on Saturday, after a four-game skid.

As for the Vikings, they're just happy to be alive.

"We've been struggling and needed a win, especially against a good club like Juda," Moen said. "We're going to get in the mindset of playing these three games like they're our last."

BONUS: Both clubs shot over 50 percent from the field, with Pecatonica hitting 21 of its 40 shots and Juda hitting 26 of its 51 attempts.