Momentum-riding Warrior boys edge Panthers in overtime

PACKWOOD ? Fred Parsons, Van Buren?s boys? basketball coach, couldn?t remember the last time the Warriors beat Pekin twice in one week.

Next time someone asks, he?ll be sure to know the answer.

The Van Buren boys followed up last Friday?s 67-60 home win over Pekin with a 64-58 overtime stunner Thursday in Packwood.

?We?ve had some good times on this floor and some bad times, but I wasn?t looking forward to coming up here,? admitted Parsons, who has been coaching for 47 years. ?To come up here and do what we just did, you don?t know how big that is.?

The win was all you could expect from a Class 2A regional semifinal game between area rivals, and it ultimately came down to the team with the momentum ? and perhaps a little bit of luck.

With the victory, Van Buren (17-6) continues on to face Mediapolis (19-3), which beat Burlington Notre Dame on Thursday, in the district final Tuesday in Fairfield. Van Buren, once sitting at 7-6 overall, has won 10 straight games.

Pekin, meanwhile, concludes its season with a 16-6 record and a three-game skid.

In the final moments Thursday, it appeared Pekin was in line for the win.

Pekin senior Trey Sathoff hit the go-ahead bucket with nine seconds left in regulation to hand the Panthers a 57-56 lead. Then, with less than five seconds remaining, Van Buren?s Dalton Stine inbounded a pass to Elliott Remick, who chucked the ball to the open hands of Blake Scott. Scott drove to the basket and was fouled with .5 second left.

?Scott was supposed to set a screen on [Colin] Weaver?s man and Weaver was going to get the jumper,? Van Buren head coach Fred Parsons explained of the final play. ?But it all went haywire. Scott ended up with the ball and he?s good at going to his left with his right hand, so it worked out that way.?

Scott made one of two free throw attempts to send the game into overtime.

The extra period opened with a two-minute scoreless period, and the Panthers scored first off a Nate Buch free throw. With under a minute to play, Van Buren?s Zach Boyd finally put the Warriors on the scoreboard with a 3. The Warriors then made the clutch free throws as they were sent to the line in the final half-minute. Weaver and Remick hit one foul attempt apiece and the game ended on two from Scott.

?I think the thing I was most proud of is they hung in there, they kept hanging in there, and then they pulled it out,? said Parsons.

Although Pekin hit five more field goals than Van Buren, the Warriors made a habit of getting to the foul line, where they made 22 shots compared to seven for Pekin. Van Buren also limited its turnovers to eight while Pekin committed 15.

The Warriors, playing with a five-man lineup throughout, had four Warriors score in double figures. Boyd led the way with 17 points and Weaver netted 16. Scott and Remick added 13 and 12 points, respectively, and Stine had six points.

For Pekin, Sathoff scored a team-high 17 points while sinking three treys. Josh Sterling scored 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and Tater Clubb added 10 points and 10 boards for a double-double. Graham Wittrock scored eight points and Buch tallied six points to go with a game-high seven assists.

VAN BUREN ? Bpyd 17, Weaver 16, Scott 13, Remick 12, Stine 6, Totals 19 FG 22-30 64

3-point goals ? Boyd 3, Remick 1. Rebounds ? Stine 12, Weaver 11. Assists ? Scott 4, Remick 3. Steals ? Scott 3, Weaver 2. Blocks ? Weaver 2, Stine 1.

PEKIN ? Sathoff 7 3-4 17, Swanson 0 0-0 0, Wittrock 3 0-0 8, Buch 2 1-2 6, Lamb 0 0-0 0, Sines 0 1-2 1, Sterling 5 2-2 12, Donovan 2 0-0 4, Clubb 5 0-0 10, Totals 24 7-10 58

3-point goals ? Sathoff 3, Sterling 2, Buch 1, Sines 1. Rebounds ? Clubb 10, Sterling 9, Sathoff 8. Assists ? Buch 7, Sathoff 2, Sterling 2. Blocks ? Clubb 2, Sathoff 2.