Pekin boys claim first victory, top Columbus

PACKWOOD ? The Pekin boys? basketball team won its first game of the season, a 78-56 rout of Columbus in SEISC north action Tuesday.

Pekin head coach Ken Hutchinson said he knew his players, who had been outscored in their previous two games by a combined 30 points, would come around quickly.

?When they were on JV last year, this team didn?t loss like this. I had a feeling they?d pull some stuff together and start winning,? said Hutchinson.

Wittrock followed up a 30-point career-high game last Friday with a 20-point outburst Tuesday to lead the Panthers? offense. The senior guard nailed three treys and was 5 of 7 from the charity stripe.

The Panthers grabbed a 19-14 lead in the first quarter and held a six-point advantage headed into halftime, but it wasn?t until the second half that their offense really took off.

?In the third quarter we locked in defensively. We were more energized coming out of halftime and did a better job with help defense,? said Hutchinson. ?We were also much smarter with shot selection after halftime, and the offense is going because we?re getting better looks.?

The Panthers scored 21 points in the third quarter to build their lead to 15, and they kept it going with another 23 points in the fourth.

Pekin?s Cade Millikin scored 18 points with five assists and Jared Bond added 13 points. Petie Clubb finished with nine points, Brody Long had eight points and 11 boards, and Seth Jensen totaled six points and 13 rebounds.

Ricky Rivers poured in a game-high 26 points for the Wildcats.

The Panthers (1-2) will be playing at Louisa-Muscatine on Friday.

Pekin vs. Columbus

COLUMBUS ? 14 14 12 16 ? 56

PEKIN ? 19 15 21 23 ? 78

PEKIN ? Wittrock 6 5-7 20, Millikin 5 6-7 18, Bond 5 3-5 13, Clubb 2 4-5 9, Long 2 4-4 8, Jensen 3 0-2 6, Bond. Totals ? 25 22-28 78.

3-point goals ? Wittrock 3, Millikin 2, Clubb 1. Rebounds ? Jensen 13, Long 11. Assists ? Millikin 5, Clubb 2. Steals ? Wittrock 3, Clubb 3.