Boys basketball: Newman shows resilience late, but Scales Mound finishes strong to secure Class 1A sectional championship

PECATONICA – The Newman boys basketball team battled within three points twice in the final minutes of the fourth quarter of the Class 1A Pecatonica Sectional final Friday night, but a few timely Scales Mounds rebounds and fast-break points swung the momentum, and it prevailed, 62-49, at the final buzzer.

The Comets started the game fast, building an 11-5 lead in the first 3:29 after back-to-back Nolan Britt spot-up 3s, a Britt free throw, and a Lucas Simpson driving layup, assisted by Britt. The junior Newman point guard scored nine of his 19 points in the first quarter to ignite the fast start.

But the Hornets responded in short order, seizing an 18-17 lead at the end of the first quarter.

[ Photos from Friday's 1A Pecatonica Sectional final between Newman and Scales Mound ]

Benjamin Vandigo hit a corner 3 at the 1:15 mark, and Ben Werner got to the lane for a layup in the last 30 seconds to put Scales Mound ahead 18-15.

“Offensively, they were hedging covered ball screens,” Britt said. “We were getting good looks off the ball screens, being able to come off and shoot. And we were just playing hard, a lot of energy coming out in the first quarter.”

In the second quarter, the Hornets turned up the pressure and leaned heavily on fast-break points to create a 14-4 scoring run.

“We started missing some shots, they got some rebounds and they beat us back down the court. Their transition’s always been good,” Newman coach Ray Sharp said. “Our three biggest things going into the game were transition defense, rebounding, and then turnovers less than 12. Those were three areas we knew we had to do great in to win, and we didn’t quite get them done well enough.”

Zayden Ellsworth buried back-to-back 3s for a 24-19 Scales Mound lead with 3:54 to play, then scored a fast-break layup about 45 seconds later to stretch it to 26-19.

The Hornets built their lead to 30-19 over the next 2:40 with consecutive layups by Vandigo and Werner, and closed out the half leading 32-21.

“One thing with our team is we’re a team of runs. The other night against Pecatonica, we went on a 20-4 run in the third quarter,” Scales Mound coach Eric Kudronowicz said. “All season long, we’ve put runs on people. In the second quarter, they were really pulling a lot of guys up, so we started running. We started leaking guys out that weren’t involved in the play and getting some easy ones.”

“I think we were pushing the ball up the floor, which helped us out a lot,” Werner said. “We got a lot of transition points, and we knocked down a couple of 3s to add to it.”

In the third quarter, Newman battled to cut the margin to five points. Britt created a five-point swing in the first 1:32 of the period with a steal and coast-to-coast layup and a top-of-the-key 3 to draw within 32-28.

With 4:14 to play, Marcus Williams briefly recaptured the lead for Newman at 35-34 with a spin into the lane between defenders and a finish off the glass, but Scales Mound ended the skid quickly and took a 42-37 lead into the final quarter.

“We want to play our best basketball at the end of the year, and just the effort I saw on the court, on the bench, it was amazing,” Williams said. “It was just awesome to see. We’ve been down going into the fourth quarter before, so just seeing the effort there, seeing the determination not to quit was huge for me.”

A Williams 3 at the 6:04 mark pulled the Comets within 43-40, and a Williams layup at the 5:33 mark got the deficit back to three at 45-42, but Scales Mound heated up over the last five minutes, using a 17-7 closing run to secure the win.

“I think we knew we could beat them at the rim, for sure,” Werner said of the fourth-quarter run. “They went out and got their runs, but I think we did a good job of keeping our composure. Even if we turned it over, we didn’t get too riled up and just kept attacking.”

Britt totaled 19 points, five steals and four assists, Williams tallied 13 points, four rebounds and three steals, Simpson had nine points, five rebounds and two steals, and Ethan Van Landuit added six points, two rebounds, an assist and a steal for Newman.

Werner led Scales Mound with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, Ellsworth scored 14 points, and Vandigo chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Colin Fosler finished with nine points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, and Sam Cocagne added eight points, three rebounds and four assists for the Hornets.

“It was a great season. I’m happy,” Williams said. “Obviously, we didn’t start the way we’d like to – 4-5 – but after a few changes, we won 20-plus games, lost four or five, so it was a great season to have. I’ll cherish it forever, it’s my senior year, so a lot of great memories that I formed with these guys. As much as it sucks losing, they’re a very good team. And there’s no other way I’d want to go out than playing a good team.”

“I give the seniors so much credit, the four years they’ve been in the program. Last year was kind of a wash with COVID, but we’ve been in the sectional championship every year, so they’ve been Sweet 16 every year,” Sharp said. “Everything they’ve done for the program, all the work they’ve put in, all the extra stuff, we have high expectations and we expect a lot out of them. And they gave us their best effort. We made a change after our ninth game when we were 4-5. We decided to put the best defensive and rebounding team on the floor. And we were 21-5 since then, so it was the right call at that time. I’m really proud of the team, and how we – from the start of the year to the end of the year – we were definitely playing our best basketball team of the year.”