SOUTH WAYNE - There are few rivalries in southern Wisconsin as big as Black Hawk-Pecatonica. Add in that both are strongly in the mix for a Six Rivers East conference championship and you have yourself a thriller of a game.
"It couldn't be a better feeling," Pecatonica junior Colton Schraepfer said. "Especially when we can be in first place in conference."
Pecatonica trailed most of the game, but when the going got tough, the Vikings flexed their muscles, and their shot, and picked up a road victory 65-57 Friday.
"I thought Black Hawk was great tonight, especially in that first half," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said.
Black Hawk led for most of the game thanks to its intense press and the hot shooting of junior Conner Meyer. But as the time winded down, it was Pecatonica coach Matt Fink who found that little something in his players.
"With about five minutes to go we took a timeout and told the guys that we just weren't very good tonight, so let's just be great these last five minutes. And we were," said Fink, whose team ended the game on a 13-2 run. "I'm super proud of our guys. That was a great win against a team that was really, really playing well."
Black Hawk (9-5, 4-4) led by as many as eight in the first half, but with 5:02 left that lead had fallen to just 55-52 after a basket in the paint by Kyle Lovelace. A timeout gave the coaches a chance to speak to their players, and that's when Fink instilled the challenge.
Moments later, Jaden Hendrickson hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 55. Meyer, who led all scorers with 29 points, hit a pair of free throws to give his team one final lead with 4:04 to play. Just 20 seconds later Hendrickson was at the line knocking down a pair of bonus free throws for the Vikings (10-5, 7-0) to tie the game once more.
That's when Colton Schraepfer took over.
Schraepfer, a junior, was supposed to be the Viking's top scorer this year but has struggled with a bad ankle. In the first half, Schraepfer came in off the bench and struggled with his shot, scoring just two points and missing three free throws. But in the final 2:24 of the game, Schraepfer scored the final 8 points.
"My guys are always high-energy guys," Schraepfer said. "We play high tempo and we trust each other to get it done. This is a big win for sure. Anytime we can beat Black Hawk it's a big win."
Black Hawk coach Charlie Anderson knew that the loss was a big letdown for his players.
"This was probably our hardest loss of the year. As a teacher I feel everything is a teaching moment and this is just something that we've got to learn from. You have to be able to execute down the stretch," Anderson said. "Hopefully we can grow from this and it will make us better."
Meyer was superb throughout the game. He scored 18 points in the first half, including his team's first 10 points.
"He played good tonight. He played hard," Anderson said.
Thrice the Warriors led by 8 in the first half, and if not for the efforts of Pecatonica bench player Everett Johnson, the halftime score would have been wider than 36-31.
"He came in and gave us a spark," Fink said. "If he doesn't do that and make some plays, they (Black Hawk) probably run away from us."
Black Hawk's press caused all sorts of fits in the first half, but many of the turnovers created were given right back to Pecatonica thanks to traveling calls or poor passes.
"I thought there was about six loose balls that we had a shot at that we didn't grab. Those would have been extra possessions for us," Anderson said. "If we had those extra possessions we could have maybe extended our lead and it might have been a different game in the second half."
Johnson scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, which was sparked by three straight 3s. Hendrickson ended the night as the Vikings' leading scorer, putting down 19 points. Schraepfer had 12 and Evan Prust added 11. Pecatonica was just 11 of 20 from the free throw line, but made them when it counted most - 8 of 12 in the second half.
"I told the guys this is probably one of our best wins of the year, if not the best. Probably because we weren't great and we had to figure out a way to get that done," Fink said. "I know our guys wanted to stay undefeated in the league, so that was a lot of motivation as well."
Black Hawk struggled to find scoring outside of Meyer. C.J. Leuzinger had 9 but slipped into foul trouble in the second half, and Jason Treuthardt had eight. Black Hawk was 9 of 13 from the charity stripe, but hit all four of its 3s in the first period.
"That second half we didn't make a single three. We played a good 32 minutes, and then that last four minutes we needed to get the ball into the basket. We needed to get to 60 points and we just couldn't do it," Anderson said. "Credit to Pec - they made the plays down the stretch to win the game."
Up next for the Warriors is a road game at Monticello Jan. 30. Pecatonica, meanwhile, is off until the Six Rivers Challenge on Feb. 2, presumably against Six Rivers West leader Potosi (10-4, 6-0).
"It couldn't be a better feeling," Pecatonica junior Colton Schraepfer said. "Especially when we can be in first place in conference."
Pecatonica trailed most of the game, but when the going got tough, the Vikings flexed their muscles, and their shot, and picked up a road victory 65-57 Friday.
"I thought Black Hawk was great tonight, especially in that first half," Pecatonica coach Matt Fink said.
Black Hawk led for most of the game thanks to its intense press and the hot shooting of junior Conner Meyer. But as the time winded down, it was Pecatonica coach Matt Fink who found that little something in his players.
"With about five minutes to go we took a timeout and told the guys that we just weren't very good tonight, so let's just be great these last five minutes. And we were," said Fink, whose team ended the game on a 13-2 run. "I'm super proud of our guys. That was a great win against a team that was really, really playing well."
Black Hawk (9-5, 4-4) led by as many as eight in the first half, but with 5:02 left that lead had fallen to just 55-52 after a basket in the paint by Kyle Lovelace. A timeout gave the coaches a chance to speak to their players, and that's when Fink instilled the challenge.
Moments later, Jaden Hendrickson hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 55. Meyer, who led all scorers with 29 points, hit a pair of free throws to give his team one final lead with 4:04 to play. Just 20 seconds later Hendrickson was at the line knocking down a pair of bonus free throws for the Vikings (10-5, 7-0) to tie the game once more.
That's when Colton Schraepfer took over.
Schraepfer, a junior, was supposed to be the Viking's top scorer this year but has struggled with a bad ankle. In the first half, Schraepfer came in off the bench and struggled with his shot, scoring just two points and missing three free throws. But in the final 2:24 of the game, Schraepfer scored the final 8 points.
"My guys are always high-energy guys," Schraepfer said. "We play high tempo and we trust each other to get it done. This is a big win for sure. Anytime we can beat Black Hawk it's a big win."
Black Hawk coach Charlie Anderson knew that the loss was a big letdown for his players.
"This was probably our hardest loss of the year. As a teacher I feel everything is a teaching moment and this is just something that we've got to learn from. You have to be able to execute down the stretch," Anderson said. "Hopefully we can grow from this and it will make us better."
Meyer was superb throughout the game. He scored 18 points in the first half, including his team's first 10 points.
"He played good tonight. He played hard," Anderson said.
Thrice the Warriors led by 8 in the first half, and if not for the efforts of Pecatonica bench player Everett Johnson, the halftime score would have been wider than 36-31.
"He came in and gave us a spark," Fink said. "If he doesn't do that and make some plays, they (Black Hawk) probably run away from us."
Black Hawk's press caused all sorts of fits in the first half, but many of the turnovers created were given right back to Pecatonica thanks to traveling calls or poor passes.
"I thought there was about six loose balls that we had a shot at that we didn't grab. Those would have been extra possessions for us," Anderson said. "If we had those extra possessions we could have maybe extended our lead and it might have been a different game in the second half."
Johnson scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, which was sparked by three straight 3s. Hendrickson ended the night as the Vikings' leading scorer, putting down 19 points. Schraepfer had 12 and Evan Prust added 11. Pecatonica was just 11 of 20 from the free throw line, but made them when it counted most - 8 of 12 in the second half.
"I told the guys this is probably one of our best wins of the year, if not the best. Probably because we weren't great and we had to figure out a way to get that done," Fink said. "I know our guys wanted to stay undefeated in the league, so that was a lot of motivation as well."
Black Hawk struggled to find scoring outside of Meyer. C.J. Leuzinger had 9 but slipped into foul trouble in the second half, and Jason Treuthardt had eight. Black Hawk was 9 of 13 from the charity stripe, but hit all four of its 3s in the first period.
"That second half we didn't make a single three. We played a good 32 minutes, and then that last four minutes we needed to get the ball into the basket. We needed to get to 60 points and we just couldn't do it," Anderson said. "Credit to Pec - they made the plays down the stretch to win the game."
Up next for the Warriors is a road game at Monticello Jan. 30. Pecatonica, meanwhile, is off until the Six Rivers Challenge on Feb. 2, presumably against Six Rivers West leader Potosi (10-4, 6-0).
