SOUTH WAYNE – The Black Hawk Warriors boys’ basketball team is heading into the post season on a hot streak after posting a pair of road wins over Juda, 48-42, and Pecatonica, 44-37, in the final week of the regular season.
    The wins pushed Black Hawk’s overall record to 11-11 on the season and Six Rivers East mark to 7-5. The Warriors finished tied for third in the SRE with Juda behind champion Barneveld (11-1) and Monticello (10-2).
    At Juda, on Tuesday, Feb. 21, junior guard Merik Meythaler scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Warriors over the host Panthers, 48-42, in a SRE thriller.
    The Warriors erased a two-point halftime deficit by outscoring the Panthers 14-9 in the third quarter, and then opened up a 39-33 lead early in the fourth quarter on a layup and 3-pointer by Meythaler.
    Juda employed a foul-and-free-throw tactic to remain in the game, and it nearly worked as the Warriors hit just eight of their 15 free throws in the final 2:06 to allow the Panthers to hang in the game.
    However, Meythaler did his part by burying 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to keep Black Hawk in the lead.
    The Panthers (14-6, 7-5) trimmed the Warriors’ lead down to 44-42 with a minute to play, but the Warriors nailed four foul shots in the final seconds to seal the victory.
    Coltin Piefer matched his season-high with 12 points, while freshman Heath Butler and junior Cuyler Meier tacked on five points apiece for the Warriors.
    Joey Jordan and Brandon Bauman netted 10 points apiece to lead Juda.
    At Blanchardville, on Friday, Feb. 24, the Warriors sank 6-of-7 free throws in the final minute of play, including 4-for-4 from junior Merik Meythaler in the last 30 seconds, to set down Pecatonica, 44-37, in SRE action.
    The game remained tight throughout the game with the Warriors using a 10-5 scoring run in the second quarter to open up a 19-16 halftime advantage.
    The Warriors added three more points to their lead in the third quarter, but they couldn’t pull away from the Vikings (4-18, 2-10) until the final minute of play when they sealed the victory at the foul line.
    Meythaler led the Warriors with nine points, while Cory Rupnow and Kyle Woodruff chipped in with seven points apiece.
    Karson Feller paced Pecatonica with 11 points.

Black Hawk… 11   9  14  14 - 48
Juda……....… 13   9    9  11- 42
Leading Scorers: Merik Meythaler 18, Coltin Piefer 12, Cuyler Meier 5, Heath Butler 5, Kyle Walters 4, Cory Rupnow 2, Seth Butler 2.

Black Hawk…   9  10  14  11 - 44
Pecatonica.… 11    5  11  10 - 37
Leading Scorers: Merik Meythaler 9, Cory Rupnow 7, Kyle Woodruff 7, Coltin Piefer 6, Cuyler Meier 4, Kyle Walters 2, Seth Butler 2, NA 7.