SOUTH WAYNE — One night after struggling with their shot, Black Hawk seemingly couldn’t miss as the suddenly red-hot Warriors cooled off the visiting Shullsburg Miners, 69-45, in a non-conference boys’ basketball game held at BHHS on Saturday, Jan. 6.
    The Warriors (6-3 overall) extended their winning streak to four games with the win, while halting the Miners’ (5-6) four-game winning streak.
    “We came out with good energy tonight. We really focused on that, especially after falling behind early at Albany on Friday night. We hit some shots early. Once we start scoring, the kids get a little more loose and the shots start falling with more consistency,” said Black Hawk head coach Charlie Anderson.
    The Warriors connected on their first six shots from the field, including a pair from beyond the 3-point arc, to jump out to a 14-0 lead just over three minutes into the game.
    The Miners fought back with seven consecutive points to cut the deficit in half, but Black Hawk answered back with an 18-3 run to extend the lead to 32-10 with four minutes remaining in the half.
    “We knew Black Hawk was a good team and we were going to have to battle their pressure all game. I think we did a pretty good job beating their press, but we started not hitting many shots and they were hitting their shots. That was pretty much what the deciding factor was,” commented Shullsburg head coach Luke Tyson.
    The Warriors went into the half leading 37-19 after shooting 10-of-14 (71 percent) from 2-point range and adding four 3-pointers in the opening half. Junior Conner Meyer led the way for the hosts with 17 points and senior CJ Leuzinger chipped in with 10 points. 
    Treys by Shullsburg’s Jacob Berendes, Oren Charles and Joseph Turpin at the end of the half brought the Miners back within 18 at the break. The guests shot just 7-of-25 (28 percent) from the field in the first half, including a 5-for-15 (33 percent) effort from 3-point range. Shullsburg didn’t get many second-chance shots as the Warriors dominated the defensive glass for much of the game.
    “That’s a strength of our team. We’re long. If we want to work for rebounds and limit teams to one shot, that’s usually good news for us. I thought our offensive rebounding in the second half was really good, too,” noted Anderson.
    Black Hawk scored four putback baskets early in the second half to extend the lead back to 20, and then used a slam dunk from senior Jett Rufenacht to charge out to a 53-27 lead midway through the stanza. Shullsburg never got closer than 21 the rest of the way.
    After starting the night 6-for-6 from the field, Meyer finished 12-of-19 on his field goal attempts on his way to a game-high 27 points. Senior Jared Knapp came off the bench to hit three of Black Hawk’s seven 3s en route to a career-high 13 points, while Leuzinger scored 12 for the hosts.
    “When Conner gets inside, teams have to crash down hard from the wings, which opens up opportunities for other kids to shoot. If they make them, we’re a pretty good team. And, we did that tonight,’ Anderson replied.
    Berendes hit three of his four treys and scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half to try and rally the Miners. Turpin and Ortiz hits two 3s apiece to finish with six points along with Alex Wand.
    “I told the guys at halftime that it’s a different game if we knock some of those shots down early. In the second half, we started making some shots, but we lost the lead early and could never get it back,” said Tyson.
    At Albany, on Friday, Jan. 5, the Warriors rebounded from a slow start and a tough night from beyond the 3-pointer arc to take down the host Comets, 53-37, in Six Rivers East action.
    Albany (3-8, 1-4 SRE) bolted out to a quick 8-0 lead, but the Warriors (3-2) charged back to take a 29-18 lead at the half and then outscored the Comets, 24-19, in the second half to put the game away.
    “We had a tough start and a tough shooting night, but our defense was good all night and carried us,” stated Coach Anderson.
    Conner Meyer registered a double-double after tallying a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead Black Hawk, who connected on just 1-of-16 shots from 3-point range on the night.
    CJ Leuzinger chipped in with 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists, while seniors Michael Flanagan and Jason Truethardt contributed six points apiece.
    Junior Colby Argall had five points, five assists and four steals for the Warriors.
    Josh Dahl paced the Comets with 13 points.
    Black Hawk’s non-conference game against Darlington on Tuesday, Jan. 4, was postponed until Saturday, Feb. 10. The junior varsity game will start at 1 p.m. with the varsity to follow at approximately 2:30 p.m.
    The Warriors will host Belmont in a non-conference game on Thursday, Jan. 11, and Argyle in a Six Rivers West game on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
    On Saturday, Jan. 13, the Warriors will participate in the 2017 Wendy’s/American Trust Boys Classic at Loras College, facing Gilbertville IA’s Don Bosco (15-1, ranked #8 in Iowa’s 1A state poll) in junior varsity and varsity games during the event. The JV contest will be held at the Loras College Fieldhouse, starting at 9:30 a.m., and the varsity game will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Loras College Athletic Wellness Center.
    At Galena, on Thursday, Jan. 4, juniors Joseph Turpin and Isaac Hoppman each knocked down a pair of free throws late in the overtime period to lift the visiting Miners over the Pirates, 49-47, in a wild non-conference affair.
    Shullsburg went into halftime trailing 19-12 after being held to just one point in the second quarter, and the Miners were still down by a point late in the fourth quarter until a 3-pointer by junior Jacob Berendes gave the guests a 38-36 lead with just four seconds remaining.
    That left just enough time for the Pirates to tie the game as they hit a layup at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
    Junior Griffin Wiegel scored four points for the Miners in the extra session, while Berendes buried another 3 and Turpin and Hoppman hit their clutch free throws to lead Shullsburg to the victory.
    Berendes finished with 17 points to lead the Miners. Wiegel followed with a career-best 10-point effort, while Alex Wand chipped in with eight points and Kyle Klotz added six in the win.
    “We didn’t make anything in the first half, but defensively we stayed in the ball game,” stated Coach Tyson. “We knocked down more shots in the second half and had quite a few guys hit some big shots to help us win the game.”
    Barrett Bell scored 17 points to lead the Pirates.
    Shullsburg has upcoming Six Rivers West games at Benton on Thursday, Jan. 11, and at home against Highland on Tuesday, Jan. 16.
 
Shullsburg…….. 19   26 – 45
Black Hawk……. 37   32 – 69
    Shullsburg – Jacob Berendes 16, Alex Wand 6, Joseph Turpin 6, Griffin Wiegel 4, Oren Charles 3, Oscar Ortiz 6, Isaac Hoppman 4. Totals – 17  2-2  45.
    Black Hawk – Michael Flanagan 2, Colby Argall 1, Jason Treuthardt 4, Kyle Lovelace 2, Jett Rufenacht 6, Brandon Schiferl 2, Conner Meyer 27, CJ Leuzinger 12, Jarrett Knapp 13. Totals – 28  6-12  69.
   3-point goals– S 9 (Berendes 4, Turpin 2, Charles 1, Ortiz 2), BH 7 (Treuthardt 1, Meyer 1, Leuzinger 2, Jarrett Knapp 3). Total fouls– S 10, BH 5. Fouled out– none.
 
Black Hawk……. 29   24 – 53
Albany…………. 18   19 – 37
   Black Hawk – Michael Flanagan 6, Colby Argall 5, Jason Treuthardt 6, Jett Rufenacht 2, Conner Meyer 24, CJ Leuzinger 10. Totals – 22  8-13  53.
    Albany – Dahl 13, Parker 2, Kelley 4, Hulbert 3, Shell 7, Stauffacher 8. Totals – na  na-na  37.
    3-point goals– BH 1 (Meyer 1), A na. Total fouls–BH na, A na. Fouled out– none.

Shullsburg…….. 11   1  10  16  11 – 49
Galena…………. 10   9    8  11    9 – 47
    Shullsburg – Jacob Berendes 17, Alex Wand 8, Joseph Turpin 2, Griffin Wiegel 10, Kyle Klotz 6, Oren Charles 2, Isaac Hoppman 4. Totals – 17  8-12  59.
   Galena – Bauer 2, Eilts 3, Lorento 2, Bell 17, Einsweiler 8, Kruse 6, Allendorf 9. Totals – 20  4-9  47.
    3-point goals– S 7 (Berendes 5, Wand 1, Klotz 1), G 3 (Eilts 1, Kruse 1, Allendorf 1). Total fouls– S 12, B 12. Fouled out– none.