Midway through the third quarter Friday night, Woodland’s lead over Roanoke-Benson looked as if it might reach 20 points. By the middle of the fourth quarter, it looked as if that lead might dissipate entirely.

Ultimately, it didn’t do either.

The Warriors held on for a 44-35 victory over the Rockets at the Warrior Dome in rural Streator to improve to 4-3 overall and a so-far perfect 2-0 record in the Tri-County Conference.

“I don’t think we shot great tonight,” Woodland coach Connor Kaminke said, “and we definitely struggled from the free-throw line (5 of 11), but when it came down to it and we needed a stop or a bucket throughout the game, we seemed to do that.

“That’s a good step forward tonight, a nice win in a good Tri-County battle.”

Balanced scoring again was the name of the game for Woodland, whose lead waxed as high as 19 points (37-18) in the third quarter and waned as low as nine (41-32) in the latter half of the fourth quarter. Nate Berry – who made a number of key plays down the stretch to hold off the Rockets – and Jaron Follmer scored 10 points apiece in the victory, Noah Decker put in seven points, Brezdyn Simons added four, and senior Nolan Price finished with a game-high 13 points.

“As long as we stay disciplined on defense and keep having good possessions on offense, there’s not a whole lot of teams who can keep up with us,” Price said. “On any given night, anyone can go off on our team. We’re still waiting for the night where we’re all having a good night, but we move the ball well, so we’ll be good.”

For the first two and a half quarters, Woodland’s defensive pressure and resulting transition offense allowed the Warriors to build a 26-12 halftime advantage, a 13-3 second quarter responsible for most of the margin. Decker and Price both canned early 3-pointers to open the third quarter, and the rout appeared to be on.

Not so.

Increased aggressiveness, physicality and – as a result of both – a ton of offensive rebounds muscled the Rockets (1-7 overall, 1-1 TCC) back into the contest. A once 19-point disadvantage was cut to 13 by the close of the third quarter and to nine on a Kaden Harms corner 3 with 2:22 remaining.

“The first half against their pressure, when teams are pressuring like that you have to make them pay,” Roanoke-Benson coach Phil Oloffson said. “And I thought we were a little too passive, not strong with the ball. The second half, we just told them to be more aggressive when you get it in the middle and beat the press. ...

“I thought we were better in the second half, and Dax Hunter and Javin Feucht were really good on the offensive boards, and Leyton Harms [who had a near-double-double with a team-best nine points and 10 rebounds] on the defensive boards.”

A strong Berry take to the basket for a layup with 1:39 remaining pushed the Warriors’ lead back into double digits, 43-32. A few seconds later, Berry grabbed a rarity for the home team in the second half – a contested defensive rebound – that ended Roanoke-Benson’s try at an answer and ultimately led to Berry sinking one of two free throws at the other end.

The Rockets got a Dayne Zimmerman 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to get back to within single digits, but it was too late for another comeback effort, and Woodland held on for its second TCC win in as many league contests.

“I tried to emphasize coming into this game that [Roanoke-Benson] was a heck of a lot better than what their record shows,” Kaminke said. “They’ve had a heck of a schedule this first part of the year ... so we knew it was going to be a physical dogfight, and they definitely showed that the second half.

“It was kind of a tale of two halves, but credit my guys. They pushed through some adversity and had some good offensive possessions late and held them off.”