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Washington Evening Journal
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Wolves hold off late Pekin rush
Panthers rush back from 10 down, WMU hangs on for SEISC North win
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
PACKWOOD — The Pekin boys basketball team trailed by 10 points with under three minutes to play on Tuesday night against Winfield-Mount Union, but it certainly got interesting down the stretch.
Pekin cut the Wolves’ lead all the way down to one point, but could never take the lead as WMU escaped 59-57, putting the Wolves alone in third place in the Southeast Iowa Super Conference North Division.
WMU used its strength and size down low to open up a big lead against the hosting Panthers. The Wolves led 15-12 after one quarter and 30-16 at halftime, and even took a 40-26 advantage into the fourth.
Pekin’s big comeback started when Cole Millikin converted on a four-point play with 2:56 showing on the clock. He was fouled on the 3-pointer by Max Edwards, who fouled out on the play for the Wolves.
A furious comeback ended with a potential game-winning shot by Millikin. The Pekin junior got off a look from 3-point land right at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out and WMU survived.
“It was really just about finding a couple more stops there at the end,” said WMU head coach Klay Edwards. “We just got really stagnant in the second half, kind of like we just wanted the game to end because we were up.”
Pekin head coach John Swanson credited the comeback attempt to playing team ball down the stretch, and said he was happy with the last shot attempt, which nearly sent the home crowd into a frenzy.
“The guys executed pretty well,” Swanson said. “We got a pretty darn good look at the buzzer for the win. All in all, it was a loss, but a lot of good things came from it.”
The Wolves’ dominant night inside came on the back of a 21-point performance from Cooper Buffington, who owned the paint all night long.
“That was the focus going in, trying to use our size,” Edwards said. “Cooper did a nice job, and the guys did a nice job of finding him in there. He finished well, and shot it well at the line, too.”
Jake Edwards finished the night with 10 points for the Wolves. Max Edwards had eight. Nicholas Sparrow and William Cupps scored three points apiece, and Cody Milks finished with two.
Millikin led Pekin with 12 points. Nolan Glick finished with 11. Henry Adam scored 10. Will Adam had eight. Alijah Brock finished with five, and Kasey Davis chipped in two.
The Wolves are now 6-4 overall and 6-2 in conference play. Pekin is 5-4 overall and 5-3 in the North Division.
