JUDA - The Pecatonica boys basketball team may have looked like an unstoppable snowball to Juda coach Andy Werner on Tuesday.
The slippery slope hit in the third quarter as the Vikings (4-6, 3-3 Six Rivers East) busted the game open by outscoring the Panthers 22-2 to cruise to a 60-46 win.
Pecatonica seniors Milton Kurschner and Kyle Kent drained 3-pointers to turn a halftime tie to a 35-29 lead about two minutes into the third quarter. Pecatonica junior Devin Jeglum then came up with a steal and soared in for a layup. Pecatonica senior Kaleb Feller scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the final two minutes of the third quarter to give the Vikings a 49-29 bulge.
"Coach (Jim) Syse said, 'We would build off the Monticello win'," Feller said. "We knew what it felt like. We wanted to run. We wanted to put the pedal down and take off with it."
Werner said the team panicked a little when the Vikings started to run.
"We had a little lull in the third quarter," Werner said. "We tried to match their shots. We fell into a trap a little bit."
The Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 first-quarter lead, sparked by seniors Beau Benner and Tyler Pierce. Benner scored down low and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to give the Panthers an 11-5 lead with 3 minutes, 26 seconds to go in the period. Benner then made a driving shot to give the Panthers a 13-5 lead.
Benner led Juda with 13 points and Pierce scored eight of his 13 points in the first half.
"Benner is just a terrific post player," Syse said. "He is just a load down there."
The Vikings stayed within striking distance with Feller scoring 15 first-half points. Pecatonica went on a 9-0 spurt at the end of the first quarter and into the second. The Vikings took a 14-13 lead on a 3-pointer by Kent, who had 11 points.
Benner almost brought the Panthers' crowd to its feet with a driving two-handed dunk, which he just missed. He was called for a technical after hanging on the rim. Feller made both free throws to give the Vikings a 25-22 lead.
"At this point, we are becoming fun to watch play," Werner said. "I love the intensity pretty much the whole game. I was a little nervous because we did exert ourselves in the first half. I was afraid we might run out of gas a little bit."
The Vikings were plagued by 20 turnovers.
"Sometimes we get into too much of a hurry on the fast break," Feller said. "That is where most of the turnovers come."
Syse was excited about getting the win, but he understands how demoralizing turnovers can be.
"When we get a 20-point lead, we have to be smarter with the basketball," he said. "We didn't handle the press break well. We have to learn to be stronger with the basketball."
The slippery slope hit in the third quarter as the Vikings (4-6, 3-3 Six Rivers East) busted the game open by outscoring the Panthers 22-2 to cruise to a 60-46 win.
Pecatonica seniors Milton Kurschner and Kyle Kent drained 3-pointers to turn a halftime tie to a 35-29 lead about two minutes into the third quarter. Pecatonica junior Devin Jeglum then came up with a steal and soared in for a layup. Pecatonica senior Kaleb Feller scored eight of his game-high 27 points in the final two minutes of the third quarter to give the Vikings a 49-29 bulge.
"Coach (Jim) Syse said, 'We would build off the Monticello win'," Feller said. "We knew what it felt like. We wanted to run. We wanted to put the pedal down and take off with it."
Werner said the team panicked a little when the Vikings started to run.
"We had a little lull in the third quarter," Werner said. "We tried to match their shots. We fell into a trap a little bit."
The Panthers jumped out to a 13-5 first-quarter lead, sparked by seniors Beau Benner and Tyler Pierce. Benner scored down low and was fouled. He converted the three-point play to give the Panthers an 11-5 lead with 3 minutes, 26 seconds to go in the period. Benner then made a driving shot to give the Panthers a 13-5 lead.
Benner led Juda with 13 points and Pierce scored eight of his 13 points in the first half.
"Benner is just a terrific post player," Syse said. "He is just a load down there."
The Vikings stayed within striking distance with Feller scoring 15 first-half points. Pecatonica went on a 9-0 spurt at the end of the first quarter and into the second. The Vikings took a 14-13 lead on a 3-pointer by Kent, who had 11 points.
Benner almost brought the Panthers' crowd to its feet with a driving two-handed dunk, which he just missed. He was called for a technical after hanging on the rim. Feller made both free throws to give the Vikings a 25-22 lead.
"At this point, we are becoming fun to watch play," Werner said. "I love the intensity pretty much the whole game. I was a little nervous because we did exert ourselves in the first half. I was afraid we might run out of gas a little bit."
The Vikings were plagued by 20 turnovers.
"Sometimes we get into too much of a hurry on the fast break," Feller said. "That is where most of the turnovers come."
Syse was excited about getting the win, but he understands how demoralizing turnovers can be.
"When we get a 20-point lead, we have to be smarter with the basketball," he said. "We didn't handle the press break well. We have to learn to be stronger with the basketball."
