Comet boys win thriller

ELDON - Pekin and Cardinal battled it out in a SEISC crossover doubleheader on Monday night and both schools picked up a win. The Comet boys won a 63-60 nail-biter to earn the split after Pekin's girls ran away with the girls game 51-24.

The Cardinal boys had to hold off a fierce Pekin rush in the second half. The Comets led 27-16 after the first quarter and 42-30 at halftime, thanks in part to 19 first-half points by Landon Becker, but the Panthers clamped down in the third quarter and Cardinal's lead was just three, 46-43, going into the fourth quarter.

Pekin held a temporary lead with just over five points left, but Cardinal came right back with five points of their own, taking a 51-48 advantage on a Griffin Greiner 3-pointer with just under five minutes left. Brady Millikin knocked down a three of his own to tie it back up at 51-51, and that set up for a wild last four minutes.

With the game tied at 54-54 and just over two minutes to play, Millikin darted to the basket on a fastbreak layup attempt. Cardinal's Ben Clark got back in time to draw the charge, handing Millikin his disqualifying fifth foul. The Comets would score the next four points to take a two-possession lead.

Pekin battled back and cut the lead down to just two poins, at 62-60, after two clutch free throws from Kennan Win with 7.1 seconds remaining. Blaine Bryant hit one of two free throw attempts to put the Comets back up three, and a last-second Panther three-pointer came up just short.

'That was one of the best games that I've ever been a part of,” Cardinal head coach Michael Stasko said. 'Those are the kind of wins that can springboard our confidence.”

Becker finished the night with 23 points. Greiner had 17. Bryant scored 13. Clark had five. Dawson Lewis scored three, and Jarrett Greiner finished with two.

Winn finished the night with 15 for Pekin. Millikin had 14. Dayne Eckley scored 13. Brock Long scored seven. Braden Soboski had five, and both Nick Tschudy and Cael Lyle finished with three.

Pekin's girls led 15-8 after the first quarter, 25-12 at halftime and 36-18 en route to a 27-point victory.

The Panther girls were helped out by a 20-poing game from Erika Coleman, who came into the game averaging just 6.4 points per game.

'Mackenzie (Ostrander) does a good job coaching,” said Pekin coach Davis Eidahl. 'They were ready to go, and they shut down two of our leading scorers, Sophie (Wittrock) and Emilee (Linder). After we got adjusted, that opened up Erika. They kind of forget about Erika, but she can score.”

Kerrigan Pope finished the night with 16 points for the Panthers. Wittrock, Sarah Eubanks and Kaylee Peiffer scored 20 each. Gracie Betsle ended the night with two points, and Emilee Linder had one.

Cardinal was led by Maddie Cloke, who scored eight points. Rachel Leman scored five. Alexia McClure had four. Kolbie Bass scored three, and both Allison Sloan and Kinsey Hissem finished with two.