Pekin boys hoops dominates at Fairfield

FAIRFIELD - A second quarter run ignited the Pekin boys basketball team Thursday night. The Panthers marched into Fairfield, and left the Trojans in the dust with a 68-43 victory.

Pekin briefly went down 13-12 to start the second quarter after a back-and-forth first eight minutes. It would be the final time the Panthers trailed as they answered with a quick bucket and then went on a 20-2 run in the final four minutes of the half.

“It really started on the defensive end,” Pekin coach John Swanson said. “That first quarter we missed five layups, pretty easy ones in my estimation and then finally got the lid off the hoop and then offensively we’re able to move the ball a little better, got into some of our actions and executed much better.”

Pekin forced seven turnovers and had three players score six points during the run as it quickly pulled away from Fairfield. The Panthers maintained their defense, holding the Trojans to just 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Four of Pekin’s five starters finished in double figures. Alijah Brock led the way with 17 points as the Panthers leaned on balanced offense to stave off a comeback.

“It says that even if we’re up that we just don’t stop,” Brock said of Pekin’s relentless scoring. “We just kept putting the foot on their throat and kept going and going and that’s just what it’s about playing Pekin ball.”

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Brock also led the Panthers on the glass with 10 rebounds and had three steals. Cole Millikin was second in scoring for Pekin with 14 points and chipped in three assists and two steals.

Nolan Glick finished with 13 points, four boards and a pair of steals. Riley Smith tallied 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. As a team, Pekin shot 50.9% from the field and 57.1% from 3.

“When you get that extra pass and the guys when they talk and they communicate that ball really zips side to side and inside out, and it was really fun to watch tonight,” Swanson said. “That’s the way we like to play.”

By contrast, Fairfield made just 2 of 9 3-point attempts and shot 41% from the field. The Trojans did force 14 turnovers, but committed 20 themselves with just seven assists against Pekin’s defense.

“You get a stop and then you turn it over, that’s really difficult to chip away at their lead,” Trojans coach Nathan Perkins said. “We made some good stops and then we’d go down the floor and turn it over immediately. So we need to eliminate that.”

Ethan Bisgard followed up a 31-point game against Van Buren County with 21 points to lead Fairfield. Andrew Myers was the only other Trojan in double figures with 13 points, along with six rebounds, two assists and two steals.

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Eli Zillman did much of the work defensively for Fairfield. He finished with four steals and two blocks along with six points off the bench.

“We had good stretches where we executed,” Perkins said. “When we do that, we look pretty good. So we’ve got to build off of that.”

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Pekin (10-3, 7-3 Southeast Iowa Super Conference North) has now won four straight games and has a chance to make it five with a matchup against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Monday. The Panthers will have a quick turnaround from that game when they host Louisa-Muscatine on Tuesday.

Tipoff between Pekin and EBF occurred after press time.

Other area small school boys basketball scores.

Jan. 15

WACO 73, Louisa-Muscatine 45

Keota 74, Moulton-Udell 33

Moravia 58, New London 51

Jan. 16

Hillcrest Academy 62, Winfield-Mt. Union 42

Mid-Prairie 72, Tipton 41

Columbus 66, Highland 53

English Valleys 55, Keota 49

Centerville 84, Cardinal 36

No. 3 Burlington Notre Dame 79, New London 45

Mediapolis 72, Van Buren County 37

Jan. 17

Van Buren County 68, Davis County 31