HOLMEN — The Central High School boys basketball team used a strong first half to take control, then took care of business the rest of the way to beat Holmen 62-52 in an MVC game Thursday night at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse.
The Vikings made just 2 of 12 attempts from the 3-point line and missed out on a chance at sole possession of the conference lead. Instead, they fell to 15-5 overall and 7-3 in the MVC, where they trail first-place Aquinas (18-2, 7-2) by a half-game.
The RiverHawks (12-7, 7-3) moved into a second-place tie with Holmen, won their second game in a row and completed a regular-season sweep of the Vikings.
Senior Derrik Pangier scored a team-high 17 points for Central, which shot 47.5 from the floor and made 19 of 23 (82.6 percent) of its free throws.
Pangier made 5 of 10 shots, knocked down 5 of 6 free throws and had six rebounds for Central, which plays at River Falls on Tuesday and at Onalaska on Feb. 20. The RiverHawks are playing their final five regular-season games on the road.
Junior Joey Pretasky and sophomore Gabe Servais added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the RiverHawks.
Junior Alex Berget made 7 of 9 shots and scored a game-high 18 points for Holmen, which had a four-game win streak come to an end. Seniors Kaiden Wilber and Keenan Eisermann added 15 and 10 points for the Vikings, who host Tomah on Tuesday and play at La Crescent-Hokah on Feb. 20.
Caledonia 82, Cannon Falls 48
CALEDONIA — The Bombers (19-4) were ranked ninth in the state in Class AA and were winners of five straight games before they were decimated by the third-ranked Warriors (22-2), who ran their winning streak to 11 games.
Senior Garrett Konz scored a game-high 25 points and made three 3-pointers for Caledonia, which also received 18 points from senior Ethan Stendel and 16 from senior Mason King. King made two 3s.
Senior Reid Klug also scored 13 for the Warriors, who host Fillmore Central on Friday and Winona Cotter on Tuesday to close out their regular season.
Luther 79, Hillsboro 43
ONALASKA — The Knights (15-5) dominated the Tigers (15-4) in each half to bounce back from a loss at Aquinas.
Luther coach Dan Unke was especially pleased with his team’s defense, which held Hillsboro to 38-percent shooting (16 of 42) and forced 23 turnovers.
The Knights were led by senior Will Huelskamp’s 17 points, eight assists and three steals. Huelskamp made 8 of 12 shots and hit on 7 of 8 inside the 3-point line.
Senior Synclair Byus added 13 points, five rebounds and three steals and sophomore Logan Pierce 12 points with 3-for-3 shooting from the 3-point line. Senior Jackson Kendall scored 10 points and handed out six of the Knights’ 28 assists.
Luther made 30 of 50 shots for 60 percent and made 10 of 22 attempts from the 3-point line.
AREA BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES
G-E-T 93, Black River Falls 54
Viroqua 60, Westby 58
New Lisbon 81, Weston 77
