Van Buren boys play tough, edged by 7

BLOOMFIELD — Van Buren County put quite the scare into Davis County on the Mustang’s own home court on Saturday, but in the end the Warriors couldn’t quite get it done in a nonconference battle.

Davis County held off the Warriors’ second-half rally to upend Van Buren County 74-67.

Davis County led 17-13 after one quarter despite a trifecta of opening-period 3-pointers by Van Buren County’s Owen Loeffler. The Warriors held a brief second-quarter lead but trailed 31-26 at the halftime break.

Van Buren County cut the Davis County lead to 46-45 after three periods, but the Warriors couldn’t get to the finish line in the fourth quarter.

Despite the loss, junior star Jackson Manning had a huge game for the Warriors, putting up 38 points. Davis County star Dalton Reeves, a senior, finished with 35.

Van Buren County is now 3-8 overall. They will put their 2-7 Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Division record on the line on Tuesday against Holy Trinity Catholic (2-11, 2-7).