BELMONT – Shullsburg guard Jacob Berendes sank five of the Miners’ 10 3-point baskets on his way to a game-high 21 points as the visiting Miners held off a late Belmont rally to sink the Braves, 56-46, in a Six Rivers West boys’ basketball game played at BHS on Thursday, Feb. 8.
    The Miners (9-11 overall, 5-5 SRW) came out firing, hitting seven treys in the first half to pull out to a 31-12 halftime lead on the Braves (2-16, 1-9). Berendes and junior Kyle Klotz buried two 3s apiece, while junior Griffin Wiegel scored eight points for the Miners in the opening stanza.
    Berendes connected on three more 3s early in the second half to extend the Shullsburg lead out to 42-19. However, the game was far from over.
    Following a timeout, the Braves reeled off eight unanswered points and went off on a 20-4 scoring run to trim the deficit down to seven at 46-39 with 2:23 remaining. Junior Ethan James hit a 3 and scored eight points during the Belmont run, while sophomore Brady Wedig 5-of-6 at the free throw line and added seven points for the hosts.
    The Miners squashed the Belmont rally with a pair of baskets from Joseph Turpin and a steal and layup by Berendes in the final two minutes.
    Berendes and Alex Wand added two free throws apiece in the final 45 seconds to seal the victory.
    Wiegel scored nine points, Turpin netted seven points and Klotz added six for the Miners.
    Wedig scored 14 to lead the Braves, while James finished with a career-high 11 points. Colin Austin added nine points and Luke Kamps had seven for Belmont.
    Both teams took to the court three times over the past week with the Miners going 2-1 in their three games over a span of seven days and the Braves posting a 1-2 record in three games over seven days.
    The Miners opened their week by turning in a season-high offensive performance to top Erik Kudronowicz’s Scales Mound Hornets, 71-44, in a non-conference game played at SHS on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
    Shullsburg jumped ahead 33-19 in the first half, and then outscored the Hornets, 38-25, in the second half to run away with a 27-point victory.
    Berendes poured in a game-high 17 points for the Miners, and Wiegel chipped in with a career-high 12 points. Isaac Hoppman added nine points, Klotz scored eight and Turpin netted seven in the win.
    Ethan Shetler scored 15 points and Sam Townsend tallied 12 for the Hornets.
    Then, at Benton on Saturday, the Miners knocked down 11 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, but it wasn’t enough as the host Zephyrs ended a 12-game losing streak to the Miners behind a game-high 28-point outburst by guard Brooks Tiedeman.
    Tiedeman scored 13 of his points in the first half to lead the Zephyrs out to a 29-15 halftime lead, and then dropped in another 15 points in the second half to help keep the Miners at bay.
    Shullsburg tallied 11 of their 14 made field goals on the day from beyond the 3-point arc with seven different players sinking a 3 in the game.
    Berendes sank four of Shullsburg’s seven 3s in the second half to bring the Miners back within single digits, but the Zephyrs went 8-for-12 from the foul line in the second half to hold off the Miner rally.
    Berendes led his team with 14 points. Wand scored nine and Oscar Ortiz hit a pair of 3s to account for six points.
    Shullsburg returns home to host Benton in a SRW rematch on Friday, Feb. 16.
    Belmont also turned in their best offensive game of the season at Juda, on Monday, Feb. 12, to pound the host Panthers, 73-63, in a non-conference contest for their second win of the season.
    Four players scored in double figures for the Braves led by Austin with a game-high 25 points. Senior Jacob Amenda went off for a career-high 16 points and sophomore Justan Ernst came off the bench for a career-best 13 points, while Wedig added 10 in the win.
    Austin (15 points) and Amenda (12) teamed up to lead the Braves in the first half, and the guests maintained a comfortable double-digit advantage for much of the second half.
    Belmont shot 16-for-30 from the foul line on the night with Austin going 6-for-8 at the stripe to lead the way.
    The Braves began the week by falling to Iowa-Grant, 72-55, in a non-conference clash at BHS on Tuesday, Feb. 6.
    Isaac Hill (22 points) and Jackson Vigen (21) combined for seven 3-points and 43 of the Panthers’ 72 points. Kruz Kitelinger chipped in with 11 points for Iowa-Grant (6-12).
    Amenda and Wedig tallied 15 points apiece to lead the Braves, while Austin added 10 points.
    Belmont has a make-up non-conference game against Black Hawk (12-6) in South Wayne on Friday, Feb. 16, and the Braves return home to host North Crawford (5-13) in another non-conference game on Monday, Feb. 19.

Shullsburg…… 31   25 – 56
Belmont…….... 12   34 – 46
    Shullsburg – Jacob Berendes 21, Alex Wand 2, Nolan Strang 3, Joseph Turpin 7, Dylan Heim 4, Griffin Wiegel 9, Kyle Klotz 6, Isaac Hoppman 4. Totals – 21  4-7  56.
    Belmont – Justan Ernst 4, Ethan James 11, Jacob Amenda 1, Colin Austin 9, Luke Kamps 7, Brady Wedig 14. Totals – 15  14-24  46.
    3-point goals– S 10 (Berendes 5, Strang 1, Turpin 1, Wiegel 1, Klotz 2), B 2 (James 1, Austin 1). Total fouls– S 18, B 14. Fouled out– S: Hoppman.

Shullsburg…….. 15   30 – 45
Benton…………. 29   28 – 57
    Shullsburg – Jacob Berendes 14, Alex Wand 9, Joseph Turpin 3, Griffin Wiegel 5, Kyle Klotz 4, Oren Charles 3, Oscar Ortiz 6, Isaac Hoppman 1. Totals – 14  6-11  45.
    Benton – Will Lawrence 8, Nathan Mowry 7, Nick Wagner 2, Brooks Tiedeman 28, Caleb O’Neill 6, Wyatt Bastian 6. Totals – 20  16-22  57.
    3-point goals– S 11 (Berendes 4, Wand 1, Turpin 1, Wiegel 1, Klotz 1, Charles 1, Ortiz 2), B 1 (Mowry 1). Total fouls– S 19, B 14. Fouled out– None.

Scales Mound… 19   25 – 44
Shullsburg…….. 33   38 – 71
    Scale Mound – K. Shetler 3, Townsend 12, M. Davis 5, E. Shetler 15, Allen 7, Ziarko 2. Totals – 18  3-6  44.
    Shullsburg – Jacob Berendes 17, Alex Wand 2, Joseph Turpin 7, Dylan Heim 5, Griffin Wiegel 12, Logan Glasgow 4, Kyle Klotz 8, Oren Charles 4, Oscar Ortiz 3, Isaac Hoppman 9. Totals – 25  11-16  71.
    3-point goals– SM 5 (M. Davis 1, E. Shetler 3, Allen 1), SH 10 (Berendes 5, Turpin 1, Wiegel 1, Klotz 2, Ortiz 1). Total fouls– SM 15, SH 11. Fouled out– SM: Allen.

Iowa-Grant…… 27   45 – 72
Belmont…….... 18   37 – 55
     Iowa-Grant – Hill 22, Vigen 21, Winders 9, Kuhls 2, Kohlenberg 4, Velte 3, Kitelinger 11. Totals – 25  13-22  72.
    Belmont – Justan Ernst 4, Ethan James 5, Jacob Amenda 15, Colin Austin 10, Tommy Logsdon 2, Luke Kamps 4, Brady Wedig 15. Totals – 22  8-17  55.
    3-point goals– IG 9 (Hill 4, Vigen 3, Kitelinger 2), B 3 (James 1, Amenda 1, Austin 1). Total fouls– IG 17, B 17. Fouled out– IG: Kohlenberg.

Belmont……..... 39   34 – 73
Juda…………… 28   35 – 63
    Belmont – Justan Ernst 13, Ethan James 3, Jacob Amenda 16, Colin Austin 25, Luke Kamps 6, Brady Wedig 10. Totals – na.
    Juda – Kammerer 3, Haffele 16, Anderson 3, Skourmal 13, Davis 9, Morris 5, Fortney 13. Totals – na.
    3-point goals– B na (), J na (). Total fouls– B na, J na. Fouled out– None.