Area teams gain ground in SEISC standings

NEW LONDON ? If a person were to have seen the way the Van Buren boys? basketball team played at New London, it would be very hard to believe the team was winless so far this season.

At the end of four quarters Tuesday night, Van Buren did pick up its first win. And with a 40-point lead at halftime, it was more than dominate.

There was little New London could do to stop the offensive output that Van Buren showed in its 82-26 win as the Warriors exploited the Tigers? main weaknesses, things that coach Curt Watson said he was already aware of.

?We?ve kind of known all year [what are weaknesses are] but we just need to get stronger, get our ball handling better and we just need to take care of the ball. We turn the ball over way too much,? said Watson. ?We ran into a very good team tonight. It?s kind of hard to imagine them being 0-4 after tonight.?

Van Buren took a 30-7 lead into the second quarter, as New London got a free throw from Dakota Job and a jumper from Kyle Helmerson for its first points. A strong full-court press forced consecutive turnovers by New London as the team attempted to inbound the ball late in the first quarter, a tendency Watson was well aware of.

?They [Van Buren] press the ball very well. On our guards, they put a lot of pressure on us, right now that?s a weakness we have with our ball handling,? said Watson. ?If any team bodies up to us, we?ve been struggling a little bit right now with it.?

Van Buren?s Zach Boyd drained a three-pointer to open the third quarter and the team never looked back, putting up 29 more points over the second half to run away with the win.

Van Buren now sits at 1-4 overall and in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division while New London falls to 0-5.

Van Buren hosts Maharishi School Friday, while New London travels to Danville.

Pekin 72, Columbus 27

COLUMBUS JUNCTION ? Columbus managed just two points in the first quarter and things weren?t much better on the other end of the court vs. Pekin Tuesday night.

The Panthers (3-3, 2-3 SEISC north) jumped out to a 42-16 lead at halftime and ended up drilling Columbus (0-5, 0-5) by a final score of 72-27.

Trey Sathoff led Pekin with 17 points and 13 rebounds and also helped his team to a total of six 3-pointers on the night. Nate Buch and Colton Swanson each hit twice from deep as Buch finished with eight points and Swanson tallied a season-high 11. Josh Sterling was also in double digits with 10 while point guard Graham Wittrock racked up five assists.

Next up for the Panthers is Friday?s conference bout at Mediapolis.

Cardinal 55, MSAE 35

Maharishi School opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run to cut the Cardinal lead down to 17-12, but the Comets had had enough from there.

Cardinal (2-3, 2-2 SEISC south) went on to a big 55-35 victory over the Pioneers (1-4, 1-4) for its second win of the year.

Trevor Kayser put up 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the Comet, Brandon Warren added 12 points and eight boards and Tyler Goodell scored eight more in the win.

Sky Nite led the Pioneers with 12 points and five assists, James Francis chipped in eight points and Paul DeAngelis scored six.

Next up for Cardinal is a trip to West Burlington Friday while MSAE heads to Van Buren.