Above: WACO's Oleh Shtefanchuck (34) blocks a shot by Mason Watkins (24) during their Southeast Iowa Boys Superconference game against West Burlington High School on Saturday, Feb. 4, at SCC's Loren Walker Arena. Photo/John Lovretta
By Chris Faulkner
Seventh-ranked (Class 2A) West Burlington overcame a nine-point deficit early in the third quarter and went on to knock off fourth-ranked (Class 1A) WACO 56-44 in the championship game of the Southeast Iowa Superconference tournament Saturday night at Southeastern Community College's Loren Walker Arena.
The South Division champion Falcons stayed unbeaten at 19-0 and handed the North Division champion Warriors (19-1) their first loss of the season.
In the preliminary game, North Division runner-up Winfield-Mount Union eked out a win over South runner-up Burlington Notre Dame in a close-fought battle the entire game.
Elsewhere, at Pekin High School in Packwood, third-seeded New London nipped the North's third seed, Pekin 67-66. Fourth-seeded Danville dominated the North's fourth seed, Louisa-Muscatine, 84-30.
Cold second quarter
West Burlington led 19-8 after the first quarter, but the Falcons missed all 13 shot attempts in the second quarter and only made a free throw to find themselves down 23-20 at halftime.
Above: West Burlington High School's Jace Figuereo (3) drives to the basket past Cody Graber (40) during their Southeast Iowa Boys Superconference game against WACO on Saturday, Feb. 4, at SCC's Loren Walker Arena. Photo by John Lovretta
WACO hit the first three field goals in the first two minutes of the third quarter.
But it was all West Burlington after that. Four different players scored in a 16-5 run to close out the period. Brady Martin hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with :01.4 on the clock.
WACO regained the lead to start the fourth, and it was soon tied 39-39. But an Aiden Figuereo 3-pointer put the Falcons up to stay.
The Warriors committed nine turnovers in the final quarter alone, and the Falcons outscored the North champs 13-3 to close out the game.
“We really struggled offensively in the second quarter,” Falcons coach Ryan O'Hern said. “But give a lot of credit to WACO. They're a physical strong team with a lot of size.
“(Coach) Paul Kissel does a tremendous job with his team, and they're going to make a lot of noise in the post-season.”
Besides being another good test for the undefeated Falcons, the large, vocal crowds in the junior college provided a sub-state style environment.
“It was a tremendous atmosphere to play in,” O'Hern said. “The two best teams in the conference. Both have great fan bases.”
West Burlington made nine 3-pointers on the night and shot 21. Mason Watkins made two of them and scored 14 points, and Parker Lau led with three from behind the arc and scored 13.
Martin had nine points, Jace Figuereo and Hayden Vandenberg had seven points, and Aiden Figuereo finished with six.
The Falcons were 18 of 25 from the free-throw line, taking 10 free throws and making six as the Warriors fouled to try to get the ball back.
Although Coach O'Hern said WACO's relentless press caused some turnovers, the Falcons made only four in the first half and just in the second half. That came with 1:05 left in the game, and WACO was called for a stutter step five seconds later, nullifying the turnover.
West Burlington finishes the regular season at Fairfield Monday and at Burlington High School Tuesday, battling larger schools from the Southeast Conference.
W-MU 53, Notre Dame 52
Neither the Nikes nor the Wolves were able to take control of the game – six was the biggest lead by either team -- and the lead changed hands seven times in a hectic fourth quarter.
Abram Edwards of Winfield broke a 49-49 tie with a field goal with 2:04 left in the game. After a Notre Dame time-out, Carsen Jones scored inside for the Nikes to tie the game at 51, and Spencer Brent hit one of two free throws with 57 seconds remaining.
Cam Buffington scored for the Wolves with seven seconds remaining. But having committed just four fouls in the half, the Wolves were able to foul the Nikes twice in their bid for a final shot.
Notre Dame had one clear chance for the game-winner, but Buffington stopped the Nikes from a shot inside, and time ran out.
Liam Delaney finished with 15 points, Brent put in 14, and Jones 13. Jones grabbed eight rebounds, and Brent had three steals. Shay Stephens put in five points. Hunter Lillie and Matthew Booten had two points each, with Booten grabbing six rebounds. Caden Schwenker added a free throw.
Buffington finished with 15 points, and Abram Edwards had 12. Jake Edwards scored eight, as did Caleb Giese off the bench.
New London 67, Pekin 66
In the battle between the third-place teams in each division, the Tigers from the South squeaked by the Panthers from the North at Packwood.
Blaise Porter scored 27 points and Leo Gebauer 19 to lead New London.
Danville 84, L-M 30
Danville dominated L-M throughout and led 59-8 at halftime.
Spencer Nelson scored 24 for the Bears. Carson Ourth put in 15, Caiden Gourley scored 14, and Ashton McCane and Talan Whaley seven each. Titus Svoboda and Carter Buck put in six points each. Landon Seibert had three points and Jaden Bauer had two.