ARGYLE - The Argyle boys basketball team played nothing like a winless team in a rivalry game with Pecatonica Friday night.
"It's a rivalry I have not been a part of until this year," Pecatonica coach Kevin Parman said. "To me it's like Barneveld and Pecatonica. You might as well throw out the records because both teams will play as hard as they can. They (Argyle) haven't won a game. You wouldn't say that if you were here watching them because they play hard."
Pecatonica senior Jeremy Meudt, who scored a game-high 18 points, helped the Vikings take control in the second half en route to a 40-33 win over the Orioles. Meudt scored down low after a perfect bounce pass from senior Devin Jeglum to give the Vikings a 30-26 lead with 5 minutes, 10 seconds to go.
The big momentum shift came when Jeglum missed a free throw in the fourth quarter and Meudt grabbed an offensive rebound and missed. Pecatonica junior Tannar Johnson grabbed the Vikings' second offensive rebound of the possession and scored on a putback with 3:55 left to give the Vikings a 33-30 lead. Johnson finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
"As well as we were playing all game, to give up an offensive rebound on a missed box out as much as we practice that was disappointing," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "It's really disheartening."
After entering the fourth quarter trailing 27-26, the Orioles were in position for their first win. However, the Vikings' pressure defense limited the Orioles to just one field goal in the fourth. Argyle (0-8, 0-4) also committed 10 of its 15 turnovers in the second half. Pecatonica hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 46 seconds to seal the win.
"I'm proud of the way we played," Ritschard said. "They made their free throws and that was the difference."
Argyle junior Ryan Geissbuhler scored the first basket in the first quarter to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Pecatonica (6-5, 3-2 Six Rivers East) scored nine unanswered points from there. Pecatonica's spurt was sparked by Jeremy Meudt's 3-pointer and his jumper with 1:54 to go in the first quarter to give the Vikings a 9-2 lead.
"Obviously, it was good to win," Jeremy Meudt said. "It wasn't a very good win. We didn't play our best against the zone. We eventually found where the holes were and got it in and scored."
The Orioles erased a seven-point first quarter deficit by leaning on 6-foot-6-inch junior Nate Thomas. Thomas, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, scored back-to-back conventional three-point plays by hitting his free throws in the second quarter to give the Orioles a 12-9 lead. The Orioles used a suffocating 1-2-2 zone that forced the Vikings into 10 first half turnovers.
"We watched them (Pecatonica) play Black Hawk," Ritschard said. "We watched Black Hawk get beat by the dribble drive all night long. We wanted to put a defense in place that would stop their dribble drive. We thought if we stopped their dribble drive, we would slow them down."
Parman knew the Vikings struggled attacking the zone in the first half.
"We were getting one guy cutting to the basket and everyone else was watching," he said. "We had everyone being spectators. We had to get everyone cutting to the basket. We found more cutters a few more times in the second half."
The Vikings held Thomas to just three second half points and limited his touches with more pressure defense on the ball and a press at times.
"We picked up the defensive pressure and caused a few more turnovers," Parman said. "We had more ball pressure and made it harder to get into the big guy."
Pecatonica hosts Platteville today in a non-conference game.
"It's a rivalry I have not been a part of until this year," Pecatonica coach Kevin Parman said. "To me it's like Barneveld and Pecatonica. You might as well throw out the records because both teams will play as hard as they can. They (Argyle) haven't won a game. You wouldn't say that if you were here watching them because they play hard."
Pecatonica senior Jeremy Meudt, who scored a game-high 18 points, helped the Vikings take control in the second half en route to a 40-33 win over the Orioles. Meudt scored down low after a perfect bounce pass from senior Devin Jeglum to give the Vikings a 30-26 lead with 5 minutes, 10 seconds to go.
The big momentum shift came when Jeglum missed a free throw in the fourth quarter and Meudt grabbed an offensive rebound and missed. Pecatonica junior Tannar Johnson grabbed the Vikings' second offensive rebound of the possession and scored on a putback with 3:55 left to give the Vikings a 33-30 lead. Johnson finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
"As well as we were playing all game, to give up an offensive rebound on a missed box out as much as we practice that was disappointing," Argyle coach Kurt Ritschard said. "It's really disheartening."
After entering the fourth quarter trailing 27-26, the Orioles were in position for their first win. However, the Vikings' pressure defense limited the Orioles to just one field goal in the fourth. Argyle (0-8, 0-4) also committed 10 of its 15 turnovers in the second half. Pecatonica hit 5 of 6 free throws in the final 46 seconds to seal the win.
"I'm proud of the way we played," Ritschard said. "They made their free throws and that was the difference."
Argyle junior Ryan Geissbuhler scored the first basket in the first quarter to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Pecatonica (6-5, 3-2 Six Rivers East) scored nine unanswered points from there. Pecatonica's spurt was sparked by Jeremy Meudt's 3-pointer and his jumper with 1:54 to go in the first quarter to give the Vikings a 9-2 lead.
"Obviously, it was good to win," Jeremy Meudt said. "It wasn't a very good win. We didn't play our best against the zone. We eventually found where the holes were and got it in and scored."
The Orioles erased a seven-point first quarter deficit by leaning on 6-foot-6-inch junior Nate Thomas. Thomas, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, scored back-to-back conventional three-point plays by hitting his free throws in the second quarter to give the Orioles a 12-9 lead. The Orioles used a suffocating 1-2-2 zone that forced the Vikings into 10 first half turnovers.
"We watched them (Pecatonica) play Black Hawk," Ritschard said. "We watched Black Hawk get beat by the dribble drive all night long. We wanted to put a defense in place that would stop their dribble drive. We thought if we stopped their dribble drive, we would slow them down."
Parman knew the Vikings struggled attacking the zone in the first half.
"We were getting one guy cutting to the basket and everyone else was watching," he said. "We had everyone being spectators. We had to get everyone cutting to the basket. We found more cutters a few more times in the second half."
The Vikings held Thomas to just three second half points and limited his touches with more pressure defense on the ball and a press at times.
"We picked up the defensive pressure and caused a few more turnovers," Parman said. "We had more ball pressure and made it harder to get into the big guy."
Pecatonica hosts Platteville today in a non-conference game.
