Boys basketball roundup: Van Buren County downs New London

The Union area small school boys basketball season got underway on Monday night and Tuesday night brought even more action and fireworks in the early season.

Van Buren County (1-0) 55, New London (0-1) 48

The Warriors picked up a huge first win to begin their season.

Van Buren County and New London went back and forth on Tuesday night, but it was Warriors who were able to edge the Tigers to begin the season.

Jackson Manning had himself a night for the Warriors, scoring 32 points, while also scoring his 1000th point for the Warriors.

Columbus (1-1) 56, Lone Tree (0-2) 55

Columbus and Lone Tree traded blows back and forth on Tuesday night.

The Wildcats trailed 16-12 after one and then led 27-15 at the half after a 15-9 second quarter.

Lone Tree bounced back in the third with a 16-11 quarter win to take a slim 41-38 advantage into the fourth, but Columbus was able to take the one point with a 18-14 fourth.

Oscar Alcala led Columbus with 17 points and seven rebounds in the win. Julian Jimenez followed with 12 points. Grant Watson and Timothy Hills each added 11. Hills also grabbed 11 rebounds. Alex Zaehringer had three points and Daniel Martinez two.

Winfield-Mt. Union (1-0) 86, Louisa-Muscatine (0-2) 46

The Wolves dominated the Falcons to open their season on Tuesday.

WMU led 22-6 after one, 46-21, at the half and 68-36 after three on its way to the win.

Cam Buffington led the Wolves with 28 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals. Abram Edwards and Jake Edwards each added 12. Abram also added 10 boards.

Pekin (1-0) 60, Wapello (0-1) 51

Pekin jumped on Wapello early in the two’s opening season matchup. The Panthers led 26-12 after one quarter of play and then 36-25 at the half.

The Panthers took the third 15-11 and went into the fourth with a 51-36 lead.

Wapello would win the fourth 15-9, but the Pekin’s lead was enough to win it.

Mid-Prairie (1-0) 71, Benton (0-1) 66

Mid-Prairie picked up its first win of the season on Tuesday night with a win over the Bobcats.

Alex Bean finished with 26 points in the win. Dylan Henry ended with 16 points and six boards. Camron Pickard had 10 points and Collin Miller and Shawn Dodds each ended with six.

Hillcrest Academy (1-0), Highland (0-1)

Hillcrest Academy clicked on all cylinders on Tuesday night against Highland.

The Ravens outscored the Huskies 18-3, 24-5, 11-5 and 18-0 in each of the four quarters.

Keota (2-0) 81, Belle Plaine (1-1) 25

Keota thrashed Belle Plaine for its second win of the season Tuesday night.

The Eagles scored 46 in the first half alone, while holding the Plainsmen to just 14.

The second half was even more of a dominant performance on the defensive end as Keota gave up just 11 points while scoring 35 of its own.