LA CROSSE — There were a lot of things that disappointed Central High School boys basketball coach Todd Fergot after a loss to Onalaska last week.
But the two times the RiverHawks have stepped onto the court since indicate to Fergot that things are trending in the right direction.
Central won its second straight game since that loss with an 81-59 MVC victory over Logan at the Steve Hole Field House on Tuesday.
The RiverHawks (6-2 overall, 4-1 MVC) gave themselves the separation they needed with a 13-3 run late in the first half to turn a 25-16 advantage into 38-19.
“I think we’ve been making some strides,” Fergot said after his team beat the Rangers (1-9, 0-4) for the 22nd straight time. “The details of our defensive system are important because everyone is tied together.
“If someone does his own thing, that kind of falls apart, but we’re seeing that improve.”
Central was aggressive, hit the boards hard and used big offensive games from junior Anthony Jones and sophomore Jorden Calvert to successfully follow up a 67-48 win over Tomah (6-3, 1-2) on Friday.
Jones attacked the basket well and scored a team-high 19 points to go with five rebounds. Calvert also did a good job of giving himself good shots in transition or in the lane and added 16 points on 8-for-11 shooting.
Junior Gabe Servais had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and juniors Will Schilling and Ezra Wiese scored nine each.
Calvert scored twice on the break during the pivotal run that gave the RiverHawks the 38-19 lead. He also scored two more times — once on a drive to the hoop and the other on a putback — before the end of the half to help Central to a 50-31 advantage.
The Rangers were able to get as close at 14 points at 54-40 in the second half, but the RiverHawks always seemed to have a stop ready and offensive push to get the bast that stopped Logan’s attempted run.
Senior Dio Leone scored 18 points and four 3-pointers to lead Logan. Sophomore Tommy Check had 13 points and six rebounds and junior Ryan Thurman 10 points and five rebounds.
Onalaska 100, Sparta 78
SPARTA — The Hilltoppers (8-0, 5-0 MVC), who are first in Division 2 for this week’s Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports media poll, built a 23-point halftime lead and cruised from there to keep sole possession of the MVC lead.
Sophomore Gabe Whited scored a game-high 23 points to lead Onalaska to its eighth straight conference win.
Sophomore Tyler Kowal added 17 points and seniors Trent Oyen and Ian Kowal 15 and 12, respectively.
The Hilltoppers next play Saturday in a 7:45 p.m. tipoff against Caledonia as part of the Midwest Players Classic at the La Crosse Center.
Holmen 90, Tomah 69
TOMAH — The Vikings (8-4, 2-2 MVC) evened their conference record and won for the fifth time in six games.
Holmen made 51 percent of its shots (33 of 61) and made 15 of 27 attempts from the 3-point line to dismantle the Timberwolves.
Junior Jayden Bartels made 8 of 10 3-point attempts and 11 of 15 shots overall for a game-high 32 points for the Vikings, who outscored Tomah by 14 points in the second half. Bartels also had six rebounds and six steals.
Senior Alex Berget added 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, and Brody Wilber, Ayden Reister and Cohen Kendhammer all made two 3-pointers.
