Van Buren boys come up just short

KEOSAUQUA - The Van Buren boys basketball team was eight minutes away form their third-straight win on Tuesday night, but the visiting Central Lee Hawks put together a fourth quarter rally and knocked off the Warriors 49-41.

The two teams traded punches all night long. Central Lee led 8-7 after the first quarter, but Van Buren had their best eight minutes in the second quarter, outscoring Central Lee 11-6 to take an 18-14 lead into halftime.

Central Lee chipped away at the lead in the third quarter, cutting the Warriors' advantage to 27-26 after the period.

Central Lee exploded in the fourth. The Hawks put up a game-high 24 points in the final eight minutes to steal the win and hand Van Buren their second SEISC South Division loss of the season.

The Warriors had two double-digit scorers in the loss. Jackson Manning stayed hot, scoring 16 points to lead the way. Jonah Heckenberg added 10.

Van Buren is now 2-2 overall and 1-2 in the South Division. The Warriors travel to Danville on Friday.