DIXON – The Sauk Valley
men's basketball team trailed just once in Tuesday night's Arrowhead Conference game against Black Hawk, and used two major runs to fend off the Braves for an 80-71 win.

Black Hawk (7-11, 0-2) tied it twice early on, but each time the Skyhawks answered with 3-pointers.

A pair of 3s by Blake Maris gave the Braves their only lead of the game, up 20-18 with 11:50 left in the first half.

Once again Sauk (11-6, 2-0) responded, this time with buckets on four of its next five possessions. Markel Hudson canned a 3 on the next trip down the floor to give the Skyhawks the lead back, and Sean Gingrich nailed a 3 of his own on the following possession. Trevon Adams hit a jumper, then Nolan Govig blew by his defender for a layup to make it 28-20 at the 8:36 mark of the first half.

“We were pretty tough tonight,” Sauk Valley coach A.J. Sharp said. “When we had a chance to give it away, our team was tough enough to decide they weren’t going to give it away. Plus, we had some guys hit some big shots.”

Maris connected on another 3 to cut Black Hawk’s deficit to 42-38 at the half. But any momentum the Braves had entering intermission was quickly wiped out in the second half.

Sauk used an 11-0 run in the first 4 minutes of the second half to lead 53-40. Fred Brown slashed into the lane for a pair of layups, Gingrich drilled a transition 3 and a pair of free throws, and Hudson made a layup.

Nine of the Braves’ 13 turnovers came in the second half, including four in Sauk’s big run.

“We had a couple stretches where I thought we settled for some shots and turned it over,” Black Hawk coach Darren Bizarri said. “When we had those empty trips, they stretched the lead on us. We had our chances, but I thought we showed how young we were at times.”

Black Hawk cut it to 69-62 with a little more than 4 minutes left, as Ben Buresh connected on a pair of free throws after a technical foul on Sharp, Owen Landwehr split a pair of free throws, and Jacob Pauley drove into the lane for a layup.

Brown squashed the Braves’ momentum with a sweet assist to Hudson for a layup on Sauk’s next possession, and Adams made all six of his free throws in the final minute to preserve the win.

Sauk shot 48 percent (28-for-58) from the field, and finished with 12 3-pointers. Adams led the way with team highs in points (18) and assists (5). Brown scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while Gingrich and Hudson each had 14 points. Nolan Govig scored eight of his 10 points in the first half for the Skyhawks.

Black Hawk shot 41 percent (24-for-59) from the field. Buresh recorded a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and also had two assists, two steals and two blocks. Landwehr, his former teammate at Annawan High School, finished with 10 points.

William Washington scored a team-high 15 points for the Braves. Maris and Pauley also cracked double figures with 11 points apiece.

Men’s basketball

Sauk Valley 80, Black Hawk 71

Star of the game: Trevon Adams, Sauk Valley, 18 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists

Key performers: Fred Brown, Sauk Valley, 15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Sean Gingrich, Sauk Valley, 14 points, 4 3-pointers; Markel Hudson, Sauk Valley, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists; Ben Buresh, Black Hawk, 12 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Up next: Sauk Valley at Highland, 7 p.m. Thursday