Area boys basketball: Hillcrest keeps rolling, two wins for Pekin

Union area small school boys basketball teams took the court Monday and Tuesday with a mix of conference and nonconference action. Pekin picked up wins on both nights, defeating Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Monday and claiming a conference win over Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday.

Cardinal, Highland and Van Buren County each split a pair of games. Keota dropped into Southeast Iowa Super Conference territory and picked up its 10th win of the season.

Hillcrest Academy maintained its unbeaten SEISC North record. Winfiled-Mt. Union won its 10th conference game and remains in second place, while WACO secured its eighth conference victory this season.

Here’s a roundup of area small school boys basketball games from Monday and Tuesday.

Jan. 19

Keota 79, Highland 48

Chase Haifley’s 28 points propelled Keota to a blowout win. Porter Cave added 13 points for the Eagles, while Jackson Vittetoe and Ayden Galindo each scored 10. Jacob Schneider led Highland with 19, while Bryce Hazelett scored 13.

Van Buren County 58, Columbus 48

Jace Duncan scored 18 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in a 10-point win for the Warriors. Will Cocherell added 17 and Landry Loeffler scored 11. Ellis Hills-Carrier carried Columbus’ offense with 18 points.

Pekin 60, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 41

The Panthers continued their winning streak with a road victory over the Rockets. Pekin hasn’t lost since Jan. 6.

Cardinal 55, Colfax-Mingo 43

Cardinal outscored Colfax-Mingo in all four quarters, including 24-15 in the second half to pull away.

Jan. 20

Winfield-Mt. Union 59, Highland 24

The Wolves held the Huskies to single digits in all four quarters and outscored them 18-3 in the third. Isaac Egli scored 15 points, while Cody Milks had 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Hillcrest 68, Wapello 38

The Ravens outscored Wapello 20-4 in the second quarter of a blowout win. Hillcrest improved to 12-0 in SEISC North play.

WACO 74, Lone Tree 47

The Warriors took a 23-10 lead after the first quarter and didn’t look back. WACO has won two straight.

Pekin 72, Louisa Muscatine 41

Pekin held L-M to just 14 points in the first half of a blowout win. The Panthers have now won six straight games.

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 51, Cardinal 45

The Comets came up just short in their second game in two days. The defeat dropped Cardinal to 3-11.

Central Lee 59, New London 32

The Tigers dropped to 2-13 on the campaign with a defeat to the Hawks.

Holy Trinity 72, Van Buren County 43

The Warriors fell behind 36-13 after one half and couldn’t recover against the Crusaders. The loss snapped a two game win streak.

West Branch 76, Mid-Prairie 44

The Golden Hawks dropped to 5-3 in River Valley South play with a blowout defeat to the Bears.