SEC outlook: Keokuk girls, Fort Madison boys lead

Weather willing, the Southeast Conference is heading into another weekend as the league’s boys and girls basketball races continue to heat up.

Going into the weekend, both the boys and girls races are led by undefeated Lee County teams, but there is plenty of basketball left to be played and both races are still up in the air.

Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield were originally set to play a girls game in Mt. Pleasant and a boys game in Fairfield on Friday night, but both games were moved to Thursday night in Fairfield. As of press time, those games have not started.

Washington and Keokuk are set to show down in Keokuk on Friday night and Fort Madison and Burlington will go head-to-head with the girls in Fort Madison and the boys in Burlington.

The boys race is currently led by Fort Madison, the No. 2 team in Class 3A. The Bloodhounds are 5-0 in conference play with wins over every team but Burlington so far.

Third-ranked Washington and Burlington are still right in the thick of the championship chase. The Demons and Grayhounds are both 4-1, with Washington’s only loss coming at Fort Madison, and Burlington’s only loss coming at home against the Demons.

The game between Fairfield and Mt. Pleasant will decide who sits in fourth after the weekend is over. The Trojans and Panthers are both 1-4, one game ahead of the 0-5 Keokuk Chiefs.

Fairfield’s Max Weaton leads the SEC with 21 points per game heading into the weekend’s games. He’s also second in the league with 11.1 rebounds. Teammate Tate Allen is second in the conference with 2.4 steals per game.

Washington’s Ethan Patterson is second in the conference with 18.3 points per game. Kasen Bailey sits second with 4.3 assists per game, and Lucas Kroll is third with 8.5 rebounds per game.

Mt. Pleasant’s Dewon Trent finds himself in the Top-5 in two different categories. His 15.8 points per game is fourth in the SEC, as are his 7.8 rebounds per game.

Keokuk holds temporary control of the SEC girls race. The Chiefs are 6-0 in conference play, 1.5 games ahead of Fairfield (4-1), which sits in second, with the Trojans’ only loss coming at home against the Chiefs. Keokuk scored a rare Tuesday SEC win over Washington this week.

Fort Madison (3-2) and Mt. Pleasant (2-3) sit second and third headed into the weekend. Washington is 1-5 for fourth, and Burlington brings up the rear, at 0-5.

Mt. Pleasant’s Andrea Lopreato is all over the SEC leader boards statistically. She sits third in points, at 20.2 points per game, leads the league with 4.4 assists per game and 9.2 rebounds per game, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Fairfield’s Danielle Breen and Delaney Breen are fourth and fifth in scoring, at 16.6 points per game and 13.7 points per game repsectively. Kelsey Pachs’s 8.1 rebounds per game are second, and Brynley Allison is third in assists, with 2.2 helpers per game.

Washington’s Alex Murphy pulls down eight rebounds per game, third-best in the conference.

Below are the SEC boys and girls basketball standings as of Thursday evening. This story will be updated online after the Fairfield-Mt. Pleasant games are finished on Thursday night.

SEC BOYS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Team Conference Overall

1. Fort Madison 5-0, 9-0

T-2. Washington 4-1, 10-1

T-2. Burlington 4-1, 7-5

4. Mt. Pleasant 2-4, 4-7

5. Fairfield 1-5, 3-8

6. Keokuk 0-5, 3-7

SEC GIRLS BASKETBALL STANDINGS

Team Conference Overall

1. Keokuk 6-0, 8-3

2. Fairfield 5-1, 7-4

3. Fort Madison 3-2, 8-2

4. Mt. Pleasant 2-4, 5-8

5. Washington 1-5, 1-10

6. Burlington 0-5, 0-10