Warrior boys rout Central Lee; Haynes scores 1,000th point

KEOSAUQUA ? The Van Buren boys? basketball team couldn?t miss to start and wrapped up a season sweep of rival Central Lee on Monday, claiming a lopsided 73-27 victory in Keosauqua.

Led by Thomas Fitzsimmons? 20 first-half points, the Warriors went on a 23-0 run to kick off the contest and held a 33-2 advantage after the first quarter. Fitzsimmons ended up with a game-high 23 points.

Will Mertens scored 14 points on four 3-pointers. Garrett Saunders scored eight points and Tanner Smith had five for the Warriors, who led 54-14 by the half.

The Warriors, who improve to 11-8 with the win, wrap up the regular season with a home game vs. Maharishi School next Tuesday.

Haynes passes 1,000 points in loss

KEOSAUQUA ? Tuesday was a bittersweet night for Van Buren senior Hanna Haynes.

The 6-foot-4 center passed the 1,000-point mark in her prep career with a 22-point game, but the Warriors dropped a 53-45 home game against area rival Central Lee.

The Warriors fell behind early as the visiting Lady Hawks took a 10-5 lead after one quarter of play, then Central Lee built a commanding 29-14 advantage by halftime. The Warriors staged a comeback in the second half ? outscoring the visitors 31-24 ? to come within single-digits.

Jordan Billups scored nine points and Kaitlyn Johnson added eight for Van Buren.

Traci Keller led Central Lee with 24 points Tuesday.

The 15-5 Warriors host Columbus in their SEISC Shootout game Friday.