Area boys basketball: Pekin wins seventh straight

Union area boys basketball teams hit the hardwood Thursday and Friday. Conference races are heating up ahead of the postseason, including in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North, where a few teams look poised for a strong finish.

Hillcrest Academy remains at the top of the division. The Ravens improved to 13-0 with a win over WACO on Friday.

Pekin sits in third place with a 9-3 conference mark. The Panthers have won seven straight games — their latest victory coming over Lone Tree — and will host Hillcrest on Tuesday in a monster clash.

Elsewhere, Mid-Prairie picked up a win over West Liberty and is in third in the River Valley South. Keota took down HLV-TC and ranks fifth in the South Iowa Cedar League.

Here’s a roundup of area small school boys basketball games from Thursday and Friday.

Jan. 22

Mid-Prairie 72, West Liberty 51

Bryce Henry led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a comfortable win for the Golden Hawks. Brooks Weber finished with 14 and Tristan Koller scored 11.

Pekin 77, Lone Tree 45

Pekin stormed to a big lead by scoring 31 points in the first quarter. Nolan Glick finished with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Cole Millikin had 14 points, four boards and five assists, while Riley Smith scored 12 and dished out four assists.

Keota 62, HLV-TC 33

The Eagles offense exploded in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 28-9. Porter Cave had 20 points, four assists and five steals. Chase Haifley scored 15 points, grabbed five boards, dished out five assists and had three steals. Blake Baker piled on 11 points off the bench.

Sigourney 53, WACO 42

WACO fell short against a strong Sigourney team. The Savages outscored the Warriors 32-24 in the first half.

Central Lee 70, Winfield-Mt. Union 44

The Wolves were held to just 14 points in the first two quarters of a blowout loss. Max Edwards logged a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards. Isaac Egli had 14 points, three rebounds and four assists.

Jan. 23

Hillcrest 61, WACO 45

WACO trimmed Hillcrest’s lead to 12 with 6:40 left, but couldn’t complete a comeback against the SEISC North’s top side. Rowan Miller had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Gibson Scott finished with 11 points, while Kale Bailey also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards. Isaac Birky also chipped in 10 points.

Davis County 59, Cardinal 53 (OT)

Alijah Frase had a chance to win the game in regulation for the Comets but missed a pair of free throws after Davis County tied the game at 50. Cayden Courtney came up short on a game-tying 3-pointer with 28 seconds to play in overtime, and Cardinal turned the ball over after grabbing the offensive rebound. The Mustangs converted the steal into a layup to make it 58-53 and were able to hold on after another Cardinal committed another turnover on the ensuing inbound pass.

Wapello 63, Highland 48

The Huskies led 17-9 after one quarter, but the Indians quickly flipped the script, outscoring Highland 37-12 over the next two periods. Landon Roling finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, while Bryce Hazelett scored 14 for the Huskies.

Danville 55, Van Buren County 37

VBC dropped its second game in a row. Kinnick Millard led the Warriors with 17 points off the bench.

Mediapolis 64, New London 27

The Tigers trailed by nine after the first quarter, but couldn’t match Mepo’s offense and were outscored 18-2 in the third. New London has now lost four straight.