Boys’ basketball roundup

It was a packed day of conference action for the area’s small school teams. The night was highlighted by a big early season win for the WACO Warriors, and a buzzer beater victory for Keota.

WACO 42, Winfield-Mount Union 38

In one of the more highly anticipated battles of the young season, WACO rallied to beat Winfield-Mount Union by four points.

WMU led 22-19 at the half, but the Warriors outscored the Wolves 9-4 in the third quarter and 14-12 in the fourth.

Odee Shtefanchuk had a big game for the Warriors. He scored 18 points off the bench and pulled down seven rebounds, five of which were offensive.

Hunter Hughes finished with eight points for the Warriors. Colton Leichty had six, and Cody Graber grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked four shots.

Abram Edwards paced the Wolves with nine points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots. Cam Buffington finished the night with seven points. Carter Loyd, Jake Edwards and Andrew Brown all had six.

Keota 48, Iowa Valley 46

Tied 46-46 with time winding down, Keota beat Iowa Valley on a buzzer beater put-back to win by two points bring the team to 5-0 on the young season.

Keota had rallied from a 27-24 halftime deficit to put themselves in position to win it.

Sawyer Stout scored 18 points for the Eagles. Cole Kindred had nine points, and Evan Vittetoe scored seven points and pulled down 13 rebounds.

Hillcrest Academy 78, Lone Tree 46

Hillcrest Academy notched its second-straight blowout win in Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division play. The Ravens are now tied with WACO in first after two games in the league.

The contest was tight at halftime, as Lone Tree was within three, at 26-23, but Hillcrest Academy poured on 33 points in the third quarter and held a 59-33 advantage going into the fourth.

Louisa-Muscatine 65, Highland 37

The Huskies couldn’t hold home court against Louisa-Muscatine in North Division action. Highland trailed 18-7 after one quarter and 36-15 at halftime.

Nicolas Oriano scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Huskies. Bryce Hazelett and Logan McFarland had nine points each.

New London 69, Danville 58

The Tigers knocked off rival Danville in South Division action, despite a slow start.

New London trailed 17-10 after one quarter, but tied the game up at 33-33 at the half. A 22-8 run in the third was more than enough to put the Bears away.

West Burlington 66, Van Buren County 36

Van Buren County couldn’t keep its South Division hot streak going, as West Burlington ran away with one at home.

Mid-Prairie 71, West Liberty 41

A red-hot Mid-Prairie team stayed that way with a 30-point blowout of West Liberty.

Leading 36-25 at halftime, the Golden Hawks blew it open with a 20-6 third quarter run.

Camron Pickard led the way with 20 points for Mid-Prairie. Collin Miller finished with 11 points, and Ace Peck had 10.