Area boys basketball roundup: Ravens, Wolves keep pace

Union area small school basketball teams resumed their seasons Friday and Saturday. The holiday break offered an opportunity for a reset, ahead of the final stretch of conference games.

Hillcrest Academy remains unbeaten after a pair of Southeast Iowa Super Conference North wins. Winfield-Mt. Union sits in second place behind the Ravens after a pair of victories.

Pekin picked up a blowout win over Highland inside the Casey’s Center on Friday. In the South Iowa Cedar Leagie, Keota won a narrow conference contest.

Here’s how area small school boys basketball teams performed Friday and Saturday.

Jan. 2

Pekin 80, Highland 38

A 30-point third quarter helped Pekin cruise to a conference victory. Four of the Panthers starters finished in double figures, led by Cole Millikin’s 25 points. Riley Smith had 14 and Alijah Brock and Henry Adam each scored 10, with Brock adding 12 rebounds.

Bryce Hazelett and Landon Roling each finished in double figures. Hazelett finished with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks and Roling had 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and a steal.

Hillcrest Academy 75, Louisa-Muscatine 44

The Ravens continued their unbeaten start to the season in comfortable fashion. Kale Bailey and Rowan Miller finished with 28 and 21 points, respectively. Bailey added 10 boards, two assists, three steals and a block, while Miller chipped in four rebounds, six assists and three steal.

Gibson Scott was also in double figures with 10 points. He added nine boards, five assists and three steals.

Winfield-Mt. Union 38, Wapello 33

W-MU’s first win of the weekend came in a low-scoring affair, as the Wolves fought off a comeback attempt by the Indians. Isaac Egli and Cody Milks combined for 26 of the Wolves 38 points.

Egli finished with 16 points, three rebounds, four assists and seven steals in the win. Milks added 10 points, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.

Holy Trinity Catholic 53, New London 30

The Tigers trailed by just two points after the first quarter, but was outscored 20-7 in the second and was held to single digits in the third and fourth. New London fell to 0-7 on the season.

West Burlington 81, Van Buren County 39

A 19-6 first quarter deficit set the tone as Van Buren County fell big against the Falcons. Kayden Simmons led the Warriors in scoring and rebounds with nine points and six boards off the bench.

Jan. 3

Keota 60, Moravia 54

The Eagles ran a six-man rotation and hung on for a six-point victory to improve to 5-3 on the season. Jackson Vittetoe led the way with 21 points, along with six rebounds, two assists and a block.

Chase Haifley was also in double figures with 16 points. He added nine assists and seven steals.

Hillcrest 79, Lone Tree 53

The Ravens kept things rolling one day after defeating L-M. Bailey breaked the 20-point threshold for a second straight game with 24 points. Scott chipped in 18 points while Miller had a double-double with 14 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.

Winfield-Mt. Union 48, WACO 41

The Wolves made it two wins in two days with a narrow victory over their rivals. W-MU outscored WACO 13-5 in the fourth quarter after being outscored 25-17 in the second and third.

Cody Milks finished with 17 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Isaac Egli had 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Louisa-Muscatine 82, Highland 69

The Huskies were unable to rebound one day after falling to Pekin. Highland was down just eight points at halftime, but was outscored 21-10 in the fourth quarter.

Four players finished in double figures for the Huskies led by Jacob Schneider’s 21 points.

No. 7 Solon 75, Mid-Prairie 34

The Golden Hawks struggled against a ranked Solon outfit and suffered their first defeat of the season. Bryce Henry was Mid-Prairie’s leading scorer with nine points