Area roundup: Morrison boys rally past rival Fulton on hardwood

The Morrison boys basketball team rallied from a third-quarter deficit to defeat rival Fulton 51-50 in a nonconference contest Thursday night in Morrison.

Trailing 30-25 at halftime and 42-37 through three quarters, the Mustangs used a 14-8 scoring edge over the final eight minutes to send the Steamers to their first loss of the season.

Alex Anderson scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, hitting a pair of 3-pointers for Morrison. Trey Strating added 10 points, Danny Mouw also hit two 3s and finished with eight points, and Andre McQueen, Mason Dykstra and Beau Brackemeyer each scored six points.

Baylen Damhoff had 21 points for Fulton (8-1), with Ethan Price scoring 10 and Brock Mason adding eight. Damhoff and Mason each had two 3-pointers.

Milledgeville 55, River Ridge 46: The Missiles grabbed a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, led 27-20 at halftime, then stretched it to 44-31 through three periods in an NUIC crossover win at home.

Kieren Harris poured in 24 points for Milledgeville, and Connor Nye scored 17. Harris hit three 3-pointers and scored 17 points in the second half, and Nye shot 7-for-11 from the free-throw line.

Caden Albrecht had 13 points, and Jack Ketelsen finished with 12 for River Ridge.

Eastland 68, Aquin 58: The Cougars rallied from a 35-22 halftime deficit with a 19-9 run in the third quarter and a 27-14 edge in the fourth for an NUIC win in Lanark.

Kellen Henze had 27 of his game-high 35 points in the second half, including 16 in the fourth quarter for Eastland. Andy Anderson added 13 points, and Carson Heckman and Max McCullough both scored seven.

Ollie Arndt led Aquin with 23 points, and Dom Alber added 12.

Girls basketball

West Carroll 45, Polo 40: The Thunder rallied to win the third-place game at the Polo Holiday Tournament, taking the lead late and holding on down the stretch.

Trailing 24-12 late in the second quarter, Tori Moshure knocked down two 3-pointers to cut West Carroll’s halftime deficit to 24-18. Abbey Skiles tied the game at 27-all with a three-point play in the third period, then she tied it again 34-34 with a steal and a basket.

Kylie Hill hit a 3-pointer, then followed that with a steal and a layup to give the Thunder the lead, and Moshure hit four free throws in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

Moshure finished with 13 points, four rebounds and three steals, while Hill had 12 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and four assists. Skiles added nine points, six rebounds, five assists and three steals, Cora Collins chipped in five points, five rebounds and seven blocks, and Kendal Asay had four points and 13 rebounds for West Carroll.

Lindee Poper led Polo with 13 points, and Courtney Grobe and Nicole Boelens both scored nine; Boelens hit three 3-pointers.

Annawan 39, Bureau Valley 7: The Storm fell behind early and never recovered in a nonconference loss at the Storm Cellar in Manlius.

Wrestling

Newman sweeps home triangular: The Comets defeated Morrison 49-18 and Orion 45-36 in a pair of duals in Sterling.

Daniel Kelly (132), Will Rude (138) and Brendan Tunink (145) all won by pin for Newman against Morrison, while Carter Rude (126) added a 12-1 major decision, and Nik Nardini (220) won a 1-0 decision with a third-period escape. The Mustangs’ lone contested victory was a first-period pin by heavyweight Nate Schaefer.

Brady Grennan (120), Kelly (132), Will Rude (138), Tunink (145) and Thomas Powers (160) won by pin against Orion, and Mason Glaudel (152) added a 4-3 decision.

Boys bowling

Oregon 3,165, Dixon 2,629: The Hawks downed the Dukes in all three games for a dual win at Plum Hollow Lanes.

Isaac Kaltenbrun opened his match-high 634 series with games of 203 and 235 for Oregon (10-2). Brady Davis had a 535 series, and Brandon Rowe’s 530 series included a 203 first game. Stylar Klapp started his 510 series with a 204 game, Gavvin Surmo rolled a 502 series, and Roberto Hernandez added a 454.

Cody Geil led the Dukes with a 554 series and a 214 game. David Laird had a 458 series, Ethan Tate added a 455, and Owen Haverland rolled a 409. Wyatt Miller (380) and Oliver Haverland (373) rounded out the Dixon lineup.

DeKalb 3,080, Sterling 2,982: The Golden Warriors lost a nonconference dual at Mardi Gras Lanes, falling by 61 pins or fewer in all three games.

Andrew Doughty kicked off his 568 series with games of 200 and 217, and Dylan Doss finished off his 545 series with a 213 third game for Sterling. Tristan Oelrichs rolled a 518 series, Ethan Melcher had a 202 second game in his 498 series, and Mikah Hernandez rolled a 413 series. Brenden Stanley (274) and Connor Jaglisch (166) split the Warriors’ other series.

Aaron Lewis led the Barbs with a 632 series and a 236 game, and Jacob Lindgren added a 615 series and a 226 game.

Girls bowling

Dixon 2,795, Oregon 2,560: The Duchesses rallied from a 90-pin deficit after the opening game to defeat the Hawks at Plum Hollow Lanes.

Tianna Bryson led the way with a 611 series and a 239 game for Dixon, while Leslie Pettorini added a 548 series and a 234 game. Grace DeBord rolled a 447 series, Autumn Swift added a 434, Reign Bonnewell added a 416, and Abby Tate chipped in with a 339.

Ava Wight led Oregon with a 566 series and a 221 game, while Mackenzie Alford added a 508 series. Paige Beauchem closed her 445 series with a 201 final game, while Trinity Hultquist (382), Kendra Ehrler (381) and Kylie Krug (278) also bowled for the Hawks.

Rochelle 2,454, Sterling 2,250: The Golden Warriors fell the the Hubs on the road, dropping all three games by fewer than 100 pins.

Brendy Gatica’s 432 series led Sterling, with Hannah Conderman right behind with a 431. Katelynn Garcia (380), Madison Schmitt (354), Emily Doss (344) and Kailynn Wickham (309) rounded out the Warriors’ lineup.

Cassidy Vincent had a 582 series and a 2-6 game for Rochelle, and Faith Adams added a 407 series.

College volleyball

Rodriguez, Nebraska to play for title: The 10th-seeded Cornhuskers continued their NCAA Tournament run Thursday night, knocking off No. 3 seed Pitt 3-1 in the Final Four in Columbus, Ohio.

After dropping the first set, Nebraska (26-7) won the next three games to take the match 16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-22.

Sterling native Lexi Rodriguez finished with 13 digs and three assists for Nebraska. On Wednesday, Rodriguez was named the NCAA Division I National Freshman of the Year, and was the only freshman among the 14 players named first-team All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Nebraska teammates Kayla Caffey (second team), Madi Kubik (third team) and Nicklin Hames (honorable mention) were also named to the AVCA All-America Team.

Nebraska setter Hames stuffed the stat sheet with 45 assists, 13 digs, two kills and two blocks in the national semifinal match, which saw five different Huskers record at least seven kills. Kubik had 13 kills, seven digs, three aces and a block, while Caffey added 10 kills and two blocks. Lindsay Krause and Lauren Stivrins each had nine kills, with Krause stuffing 1.5 blocks and Stivrins chipping in three blocks and an ace. Ally Batenhorst slammed seven kills, Keonilei Akana had 11 digs and an ace, and Kenzie Knuckles added six digs, a kill and an ace.

Pitt got 13 kills and seven digs from Leketor Member-Meneh, 11 kills from Serena Gray, and nine kills and 14 digs from Kayla Lund. Rachel Fairbanks had 27 assists and six digs, and Lexis Akeo added 18 assists and 10 digs for the Panthers (30-4).

Nebraska will face a familiar foe in the national championship match Saturday night: No. 4 seed Wisconsin (30-3) knocked off previously unbeaten Louisville (32-1), the No. 1 seed, in five sets, winning 25-23, 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-9 in the other Final Four match to set up an all-Big Ten final.

The Badgers lost in the title match in 2019, and lost in the Final Four last season as the tournament’s top seed. They are in search of their first national championship; Nebraska has five titles (1995, 2000, 2006, 2015, 2017), the last four under current head coach John Cook.