Small school boys roundup: New London, Columbus win in overtime

New London’s overtime win over WACO highlighted a packed weekend in small school boys basketball. It was the first night of full conference play for the area teams.

New London 60 WACO 57 (OT)

New London rallied back from a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to force overtime and eventually win on the road in a Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division game at WACO.

Kade Benjamin led the way with 19 points for the Tigers. Tayshun Donaldson scored 16. Simeon Reichenbach’s 15 led the Warriors.

Columbus 53, Louisa-Muscatine 50 (2OT)

The Wildcats won a SEISC North thriller at Columbus High School, grinding out a defensive pair of overtime periods to knock off the Falcons.

Grant Watson scored 21 points for Columbus in the win. Timothy Hill scored just two points but filled the stat sheet up with seven rebounds, three assists, five steals and four blocked shots.

Cardinal 56, Holy Trinity 38

The Comets blasted the Crusaders by 18 points in their home opener. Cardinal moved to 2-0 in the SEISC South with the win.

Cardinal 62, Moravia 26

The Comets followed Friday’s win with a nonconference beat down, also in Eldon. Cardinal led 36-12 at halftime and 55-21 after three quarters en route to its third-straight win to start the season.

Notre Dame 60, Van Buren County 38

A 22-7 first quarter deficit was too much to overcome for the Warriors in a SEISC South showdown.

Jackson Manning put up 20 points for the Warriors as they outscored the Nikes in the final three quarters, but it was too little, too late.

Winfield-Mount Union 58, Highland 22

WMU impressed in a dominant road win at Highland in SEISC North action. The Wolves grabbed the lead early and never let go.

Sophomore Cam Buffington went off for 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Wolves. Classmate Abram Edwards had 12 points and 13 rebounds of his own.

Winfield-Mount Union 62, Van Buren County 43 (Saturday)

Buffington stayed red-hot one night after the win at Highland. On Saturday at Van Buren County, he finished the day with 30 points and 14 rebounds.

Van Buren County was led in scoring by freshman Izaak Loeffler, who scored 18 points.

Mediapolis 55, Pekin 52 (2OT)

The Panthers rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to force overtime but after two extra frames, the Panthers came up just short.

The game was tied 40-40 after regulation and 45-45 after one overtime. Mediapolis scored 10 in the second OT to drop Pekin’s record to 0-2.

Hillcrest Academy 51, Wapello 43

The Ravens vanquished Wapello despite the Indians’ second-half comeback that took at 15-point halftime lead down to 40-34 at the end of the third quarter.

Grant Bender scored 25 points on 10-for-16 shooting to lead the Panthers. He also pulled down a team-high six rebounds and blocked five shots.

Mid-Prairie 60, Tipton 35

Mid-Prairie won every quarter in a River Valley Conference South Divisoin victory.

Carter Harmsen had another big game, scoring 17 points and yanking down 12 rebounds for the Golden Hawks. Jackson Pennington scored 12 points. Ethan Kos finished the night with 11 points and 12 rebounds, and Alex Bean scored 11 points as well.

Keota 56, Sigourney 48

Football friends became basketball foes as Keota won a South Iowa Cedar League East Division matchup at Sigourney.

The Eagles had to rally back from a 31-28 halftime deficit, but a 17-point, 11 rebound performance from Evan Vittetoe was too much for Sigourney to overcome. Sawyer Stout added13 points for Keota, and Cole Kindred had 10.