SOUTH WAYNE - For the second straight year, the Black Hawk boys basketball team will extend their season into March as they are one step away from returning to the sectional.
Black Hawk senior Seth Butler scored a team-high 17 points and younger brother Heath Butler scored 14 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to power the Warriors to a 49-35 win over Albany in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal Friday. With the win, Black Hawk (19-5) advances and will play at Burlington Catholic Central for a regional championship tonight.
Albany senior Isaiah Shell scored a game-high 20 points, but the Warriors made him work hard for his points. Albany shot just 27.4 percent (14 of 51).
"The biggest difference was rebounding and we got a hand up on their shooters," Heath Butler said. "We got a hand up in Isaiah's face. I think that affected his shot a little bit."
Butler was surprised to learn that he had 20 rebounds.
"I was just trying to do my job of rebounding," Heath Butler said. "If the ball was coming by me I had to just grab it. Albany is a competitive team. It feels great to get three wins against them."
Seth Butler is excited to advance in the tournament. The Warriors are just one win away from making their second straight trip to the sectional.
"It's a blast," he said. "I love playing basketball. It's all teamwork that got us here. It was a very physical game. That is how we like to play."
The Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two driving layups by Seth Butler and Heath Butler's 3-pointer. Albany (15-9) responded with six straight points ignited by Shell who had a steal and a layup.
"I'm just proud of them," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "They have made Albany boys basketball relevant again. Our boys basketball team hasn't been relevant in the conference or tournament in a long time. We had a chance at the conference championship the final week. Playing in an atmosphere in a packed gym the second round of the regionals, you don't see very often. They have nothing to hang their heads about."
The Warriors broke the game open with a 17-6 run in the third quarter sparked by senior Tyler Peterson. Peterson scored 10 of his 14 points in the third and drilled two 3-pointers. He knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an insurmountable 34-16 lead with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in the period.
"I needed a guy off the bench to be a scorer," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "Our bench is important when we have guys get into foul trouble. Tyler's performance off the bench is what we needed. I have been waiting for that to happen all year."
The Comets cut the Warriors' lead to 10 points a couple of times in the fourth quarter. Seth Butler made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth. However, the Comets couldn't get over the hump with a cold shooting performance.
"We practice free throws every day in practice," Seth Butler said. "There is not a day that we skip them. Free throws win games."
Doescher knows that the Warriors set the tone from the opening tip in the first quarter.
"We just didn't shoot the ball well tonight," Doescher said. "We executed well. We had a lot of open looks. You have to see some success by hitting a couple of shots early to get that confidence on the road. They went on that 7-0 run and we came back and scored six points. We were always fighting uphill."
Manlick said the Comets did a good job early taking away the Warriors' post-up game. The Warriors made an adjustment by spotting up shooters on the same side as Heath Butler and using players to cut to the basket.
"We have the experience," Manlick said. "We have been in this position before. We got the ball to bounce our way and we got a few more shots to go down."
Black Hawk senior Seth Butler scored a team-high 17 points and younger brother Heath Butler scored 14 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to power the Warriors to a 49-35 win over Albany in a WIAA Division 5 regional semifinal Friday. With the win, Black Hawk (19-5) advances and will play at Burlington Catholic Central for a regional championship tonight.
Albany senior Isaiah Shell scored a game-high 20 points, but the Warriors made him work hard for his points. Albany shot just 27.4 percent (14 of 51).
"The biggest difference was rebounding and we got a hand up on their shooters," Heath Butler said. "We got a hand up in Isaiah's face. I think that affected his shot a little bit."
Butler was surprised to learn that he had 20 rebounds.
"I was just trying to do my job of rebounding," Heath Butler said. "If the ball was coming by me I had to just grab it. Albany is a competitive team. It feels great to get three wins against them."
Seth Butler is excited to advance in the tournament. The Warriors are just one win away from making their second straight trip to the sectional.
"It's a blast," he said. "I love playing basketball. It's all teamwork that got us here. It was a very physical game. That is how we like to play."
The Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead after two driving layups by Seth Butler and Heath Butler's 3-pointer. Albany (15-9) responded with six straight points ignited by Shell who had a steal and a layup.
"I'm just proud of them," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "They have made Albany boys basketball relevant again. Our boys basketball team hasn't been relevant in the conference or tournament in a long time. We had a chance at the conference championship the final week. Playing in an atmosphere in a packed gym the second round of the regionals, you don't see very often. They have nothing to hang their heads about."
The Warriors broke the game open with a 17-6 run in the third quarter sparked by senior Tyler Peterson. Peterson scored 10 of his 14 points in the third and drilled two 3-pointers. He knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Warriors an insurmountable 34-16 lead with 2 minutes, 18 seconds left in the period.
"I needed a guy off the bench to be a scorer," Black Hawk coach Corey Manlick said. "Our bench is important when we have guys get into foul trouble. Tyler's performance off the bench is what we needed. I have been waiting for that to happen all year."
The Comets cut the Warriors' lead to 10 points a couple of times in the fourth quarter. Seth Butler made 8 of 10 free throws in the fourth. However, the Comets couldn't get over the hump with a cold shooting performance.
"We practice free throws every day in practice," Seth Butler said. "There is not a day that we skip them. Free throws win games."
Doescher knows that the Warriors set the tone from the opening tip in the first quarter.
"We just didn't shoot the ball well tonight," Doescher said. "We executed well. We had a lot of open looks. You have to see some success by hitting a couple of shots early to get that confidence on the road. They went on that 7-0 run and we came back and scored six points. We were always fighting uphill."
Manlick said the Comets did a good job early taking away the Warriors' post-up game. The Warriors made an adjustment by spotting up shooters on the same side as Heath Butler and using players to cut to the basket.
"We have the experience," Manlick said. "We have been in this position before. We got the ball to bounce our way and we got a few more shots to go down."
