By Times staff
WILLIAMS BAY - In their opening round playoff game, the Monticello boys basketball team lost a close 69-65 game against fifth-seed Williams Bay.
Both team's traded leads throughout the game, but the host Bulldogs went on a 9-0 stretch midway in the fourth quarter to give them the lead as time dwindled down. After narrowing the lead down to two points, the Ponies were forced to foul and send Williams Bay to the free throw line, where the game was ultimately decided.
Seniors Lucas Marty and Logan Crooks ended their careers at Monticello with 25 and 19 points, respectively. Ben May also scored 17 points for the Ponies, who end the season with a 12-10 overall record.
Albany 69,
Faith Christian 45
ALBANY - Not too far removed from a disappointing loss to Pecatonica, in a game that would have given the Comets a share of the conference title, the Albany boys basketball team responded with a solid 69-45 victory over Faith Christian.
"We came ready to play tonight," Comets coach Derik Doescher said. "Our team is senior-oriented, and after our loss to Pecatonica, we didn't spend much time hanging our heads on the loss. We knew that we had to get ready for the playoffs and play a tough team in Faith Christian. And I thought we responded well tonight by starting off strong."
The Comets started the game with a 17-6 opening quarter, and were able to hit on all cylinders shortly after tipoff.
"We set the tone in the first quarter," Doescher said. "We did a nice job in pushing the ball in our transition offense, and on the other side, we were sound defensively."
Isaiah Shell turned in a solid performance for the Comets, scoring a game-high 26 points. Fellow senior Mitchell Kauk also scored in double figures, adding 15 points.
New Glarus 45, Belleville 36
NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus boys basketball team faced a familiar foe in their opening round playoff game on Tuesday night. The Knights hosted Wisconsin 69 rival Belleville with the winner of the game advancing to the next stage of the playoffs.
After a shaky start to the game, where at one point New Glarus trailed 12-1 in the first quarter, the Knights climbed back by capitalizing on open opportunities, while limiting the visiting Wildcats to only 25 points throughout the game's last three quarters. New Glarus went on to win 45-36.
"We had a shaky start," Knights coach Travis Sysko said. "We maybe had some pregame jitters because of the game that we were in, but our guys were able to hang in there and battle back despite a slow start."
As time was winding down in the first half, Knights senior Caleb Fredrickson connnected from beyond the arc to tie both teams at 21.
"I thought that shot was able to give us some momentum heading into halftime," Sysko said. "After that, I thought we were able to get some good looks on the offensive side of the ball and defensively, we were able to take care of business."
Fredrickson finished the game with 12 points.
Darlington 67, Brookwood 55
DARLINGTON - Despite having four players score in double figures, the visiting Falcons could not match the consistent play of the Darlington boys basketball team throughout all four quarters. In doing so, the host Redbirds won their opening playoff game 67-55.
"I thought that we played one of our better all-around games tonight," Darlington coach Michael Hopkins said. "Offensively we put together a very consistent night, and our defense did a great job in not allowing them (Brookwood) to get in any spurts."
In what would appear to be a close game at the start, Darlington held Brookwood to only seven points in the second quarter, which was enough of a cushion for the Redbirds to hang on for the win.
"We were on the edge there before the half," Hopkins said. "I told our guys to grab the lead, and they did more than that, which was a great boost before the half.
Ben Muhlstein poured in a game-high 21 points for the Redbirds. Cole McDonald and Cade Hardyman added 16 and 11 points respectively.
Darlington will face Wisconsin Heights in their next playoff game Friday, Feb. 28.
Black Hawk 64, Argyle 46
SOUTH WAYNE - Six Rivers East foes squared off in the opening round of the Kettle Moraine sectional on Tuesday night, with the host Warriors advancing in a 64-46 victory over the visiting Orioles.
The Warriors settled into their offense in the second quarter, as they capitalized on multiple 3-pointers en route to scoring 22 points in the second quarter and climbing out to a 33-22 lead.
But for Argyle sophomore Riley Ostby, he made sure that his team would fight for survival. After coming out in the second half, Ostby compiled 11 third quarter points, but in the end he was unable to propel his team to a victory. Ostby ended the game with 29 points.
The usual suspects provided much of the offensive firepower for Black Hawk. Heath Butler had a team high 23 points, including four 3-pointers. His brother Seth chipped in 15 points, while Shawn Woodruff and Brett Lovelace each added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Burlington Catholic 61, Juda 31
BURLINGTON - The Juda boys basketball team opened their postseason play against the No. 1 seed Hilltoppers, and despite high hopes, the Panthers lost 61-31.
"I thought we came out pretty well," Juda coach James Pickett said. "We were in the game for the most part, but things started to unravel for us in the middle of the second quarter."
A stingy defense by Burlington created enough pressure to force the Panthers into making some errors.
"They started to pick up their defensive pressure as the game developed," Pickett said. "(And) that forced us into committing some turnovers, which led to some easy points for their team."
Freshman Matthew Schmitt had 19 points for the Panthers. Junior Cory Segner added 10 points.
Pecatonica 48, Seneca 30
PECATONICA - The host Vikings raced out to a 30-10 first-half lead in their game against Seneca on Tuesday en route to a 48-30 victory.
Between the second and third quarters, Pecatonica limited the visiting Indians to only eight points in a stretch where the Vikings were able to take a 20-point lead. Led by Zach Schilling with 15 points, the Vikings received multiple contributions from a number of players in the win.
Evansville 58, Brodhead 35
EVANSVILLE - The visiting Cardinals ended their season with a 58-35 loss at Evansville on Tuesday. Struggling to find a rhythm in the first half, Brodhead quickly got behind and entered the break down by 13 points. Unfortunately, the host Blue Devils saved their best performance in the second half as they put away the Cardinals.
Ned Slocum had 15 points for Brodhead, and Griffin Day added 11 points.
WILLIAMS BAY - In their opening round playoff game, the Monticello boys basketball team lost a close 69-65 game against fifth-seed Williams Bay.
Both team's traded leads throughout the game, but the host Bulldogs went on a 9-0 stretch midway in the fourth quarter to give them the lead as time dwindled down. After narrowing the lead down to two points, the Ponies were forced to foul and send Williams Bay to the free throw line, where the game was ultimately decided.
Seniors Lucas Marty and Logan Crooks ended their careers at Monticello with 25 and 19 points, respectively. Ben May also scored 17 points for the Ponies, who end the season with a 12-10 overall record.
Albany 69,
Faith Christian 45
ALBANY - Not too far removed from a disappointing loss to Pecatonica, in a game that would have given the Comets a share of the conference title, the Albany boys basketball team responded with a solid 69-45 victory over Faith Christian.
"We came ready to play tonight," Comets coach Derik Doescher said. "Our team is senior-oriented, and after our loss to Pecatonica, we didn't spend much time hanging our heads on the loss. We knew that we had to get ready for the playoffs and play a tough team in Faith Christian. And I thought we responded well tonight by starting off strong."
The Comets started the game with a 17-6 opening quarter, and were able to hit on all cylinders shortly after tipoff.
"We set the tone in the first quarter," Doescher said. "We did a nice job in pushing the ball in our transition offense, and on the other side, we were sound defensively."
Isaiah Shell turned in a solid performance for the Comets, scoring a game-high 26 points. Fellow senior Mitchell Kauk also scored in double figures, adding 15 points.
New Glarus 45, Belleville 36
NEW GLARUS - The New Glarus boys basketball team faced a familiar foe in their opening round playoff game on Tuesday night. The Knights hosted Wisconsin 69 rival Belleville with the winner of the game advancing to the next stage of the playoffs.
After a shaky start to the game, where at one point New Glarus trailed 12-1 in the first quarter, the Knights climbed back by capitalizing on open opportunities, while limiting the visiting Wildcats to only 25 points throughout the game's last three quarters. New Glarus went on to win 45-36.
"We had a shaky start," Knights coach Travis Sysko said. "We maybe had some pregame jitters because of the game that we were in, but our guys were able to hang in there and battle back despite a slow start."
As time was winding down in the first half, Knights senior Caleb Fredrickson connnected from beyond the arc to tie both teams at 21.
"I thought that shot was able to give us some momentum heading into halftime," Sysko said. "After that, I thought we were able to get some good looks on the offensive side of the ball and defensively, we were able to take care of business."
Fredrickson finished the game with 12 points.
Darlington 67, Brookwood 55
DARLINGTON - Despite having four players score in double figures, the visiting Falcons could not match the consistent play of the Darlington boys basketball team throughout all four quarters. In doing so, the host Redbirds won their opening playoff game 67-55.
"I thought that we played one of our better all-around games tonight," Darlington coach Michael Hopkins said. "Offensively we put together a very consistent night, and our defense did a great job in not allowing them (Brookwood) to get in any spurts."
In what would appear to be a close game at the start, Darlington held Brookwood to only seven points in the second quarter, which was enough of a cushion for the Redbirds to hang on for the win.
"We were on the edge there before the half," Hopkins said. "I told our guys to grab the lead, and they did more than that, which was a great boost before the half.
Ben Muhlstein poured in a game-high 21 points for the Redbirds. Cole McDonald and Cade Hardyman added 16 and 11 points respectively.
Darlington will face Wisconsin Heights in their next playoff game Friday, Feb. 28.
Black Hawk 64, Argyle 46
SOUTH WAYNE - Six Rivers East foes squared off in the opening round of the Kettle Moraine sectional on Tuesday night, with the host Warriors advancing in a 64-46 victory over the visiting Orioles.
The Warriors settled into their offense in the second quarter, as they capitalized on multiple 3-pointers en route to scoring 22 points in the second quarter and climbing out to a 33-22 lead.
But for Argyle sophomore Riley Ostby, he made sure that his team would fight for survival. After coming out in the second half, Ostby compiled 11 third quarter points, but in the end he was unable to propel his team to a victory. Ostby ended the game with 29 points.
The usual suspects provided much of the offensive firepower for Black Hawk. Heath Butler had a team high 23 points, including four 3-pointers. His brother Seth chipped in 15 points, while Shawn Woodruff and Brett Lovelace each added 12 and 10 points respectively.
Burlington Catholic 61, Juda 31
BURLINGTON - The Juda boys basketball team opened their postseason play against the No. 1 seed Hilltoppers, and despite high hopes, the Panthers lost 61-31.
"I thought we came out pretty well," Juda coach James Pickett said. "We were in the game for the most part, but things started to unravel for us in the middle of the second quarter."
A stingy defense by Burlington created enough pressure to force the Panthers into making some errors.
"They started to pick up their defensive pressure as the game developed," Pickett said. "(And) that forced us into committing some turnovers, which led to some easy points for their team."
Freshman Matthew Schmitt had 19 points for the Panthers. Junior Cory Segner added 10 points.
Pecatonica 48, Seneca 30
PECATONICA - The host Vikings raced out to a 30-10 first-half lead in their game against Seneca on Tuesday en route to a 48-30 victory.
Between the second and third quarters, Pecatonica limited the visiting Indians to only eight points in a stretch where the Vikings were able to take a 20-point lead. Led by Zach Schilling with 15 points, the Vikings received multiple contributions from a number of players in the win.
Evansville 58, Brodhead 35
EVANSVILLE - The visiting Cardinals ended their season with a 58-35 loss at Evansville on Tuesday. Struggling to find a rhythm in the first half, Brodhead quickly got behind and entered the break down by 13 points. Unfortunately, the host Blue Devils saved their best performance in the second half as they put away the Cardinals.
Ned Slocum had 15 points for Brodhead, and Griffin Day added 11 points.
