By the Telegraph Herald
Every night is a fight for a win in the Mississippi Valley Conference, Iowa's top boys basketball league this season.
And a struggling Dubuque Hempstead team pulled out all the stops to score a 57-56 victory over Waterloo West Thursday night in Waterloo, Iowa.
Josh Lenz broke a 56-all tie with a free throw with 7 seconds left to pull the Mustangs (5-12, 3-9) ahead, cap a 26-point night and give Hempstead the final word in a wild back-and-forth game.
"As good as (the MVC) is, sometimes you've got to fight like crazy to win one," Hempstead coach Eric Miller said. "It was two teams fighting like crazy."
Kevin Ruh added 10 points for Hempstead, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
Ryan Edwards had 15 points for the Wahawks (1-15, 1-11).
Benton 61, Cassville 30 -- At Benton, Wis.: The WIAA Division 4 No. 4-ranked Zephyrs (18-0, 11-0 Six Rivers West) drove their school-record home-court winning streak to 17 with a blitz past the Comets (2-15, 0-10).
Connor Hendricks and Michael Droessler delivered 16 points apiece for Benton, which had built a 33-12 lead by halftime.
Cuba City 64, Iowa-Grant 54 -- At Livingston, Wis.: The Panthers didn't go easy, but the WIAA Division 3 No. 8 Cubans (14-2, 10-1) clinched at least a share of the SWAL title. Cuba City turned back Iowa-Grant's upset bid with a 26-point fourth quarter and Ben Pickel's 30-point night.
Platteville 49, Lancaster 31 -- At Lancaster, Wis.: Lucas Ware drove the bus of the Hillmen's convincing win, dropping a game-high 21 points as Platteville climbed to 7-11.
Jordon Rolland had 19 points for the Flying Arrows (3-14, 1-6 Southwest Wisconsin Conference), who were limited to 12 field goals.
Belmont 55, Highland 54 -- At Belmont, Wis.: With the Braves trailing, 54-53, with 3.3 seconds left, the Cardinals snuffed out Kevin Humphrey's game-winning attempt on a lane drive. But Humphrey (a co-game-high 17 points) was fouled and hit both free throws with 0.7 seconds left to give the Braves the victory.
Southwestern 48, Fennimore 46 -- At Hazel Green, Wis.: Michael Tranel's putback with two seconds left gave the Wildcats the victory.
Mineral Point 57, Boscobel 51 -- At Boscobel, Wis.: Kaleb Engelke rained in 24 points as the Pointers (9-8, 6-5 SWAL) stayed a couple paces ahead of the Bulldogs (7-9, 3-8) after winning the first quarter, 21-10. Luke Knoble had 20 points for Boscobel.
Darlington 58, Riverdale 47 -- At Darlington, Wis.: Mitchell Erickson scored 15 points and the Redbirds (11-5, 7-4) quieted the Chieftains to nine points or less in three quarters of their SWAL win.
Shullsburg 45, Potosi 40 -- Brooks Lutes hit a series of big shots and keyed the Miners' 20-11 run in the fourth quarter in a 22-point performance that led Shullsburg to a late comeback win.
Derek Flesch had 17 points for the Chieftains.
Pecatonica 55, River Ridge (Wis.) 34 -- At Patch Grove, Wis.: The Vikings netted seven 3-pointers while dropping the Timberwolves (6-10).
Girls prep basketball
(Illinois Class 1A
Galena Regional)
Dakota 60, Galena 50 -- At Galena, Ill.: The Indians, the top regional's top seed, pushed into tonight's final behind Alexys Cleaver's 14 second-half points. Cleaver (16 points) spoiled a 19-point effort by the Pirates' Anna Wills in her final prep game. Galena bowed out 8-15.
Stockton 37, River Ridge (Ill.) 28 -- At Galena, Ill.: The Blackhawks muted the Wildcats to single-digit scoring in all four quarters to take the defense-driven game.
Jackie Cahill piloted Stockton -- the Pecatonica Sectional's No. 3 seed -- with 13 points. Jessica Brunner backed Cahill with 10 points as the Blackhawks booked a date against Dakota in tonight's 7:30 p.m. regional final.
(Illinois Class 1A
Pearl City Regional)
Warren 49, Freeport Aquin 47 (OT) -- At Pearl City, Wis.: Down the entire game, the Warriors forced overtime with 1.8 seconds left and then vanquished the Bulldogs in extra time to earn a date in tonight's 7:30 p.m. regional final against host Pearl City. Kara Jelinek's 12 points paced Warren.
Cedar Rapids Xavier 69, Dubuque Senior 34 -- At Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Candis Kertson had 10 points for the Rams (4-15, 3-12) in the Mississippi Valley Conference loss.
Wyoming Midland 69, Bellevue 23 -- At Wyoming, Iowa: The Comets were knocked out of the Iowa Class 1A playoffs in their district opener.
Potosi 49, Darlington 33 -- At Potosi, Wis.: The Chieftains (14-2) tracked to a 23-7 first-quarter lead en route to hurdling the Redbirds. Thresia Elskamp had 10 points and Morgan Lass had eight points and eight rebounds for the victors.
Mineral Point 78, Boscobel 26 -- At Mineral Point, Wis.: Making plays on her seemingly ever touch of the ball, Liz Lawinger doubled with 24 points and 13 assists as the Pointers (13-2, 8-2) cruised to a SWAL win. RaeAnn Bennett added 22 points and eight steals for Point.
Sports entertainment
WWE returns to Dubuque March 9 -- World Wrestling Entertainment will return to Dubuque for the first time since 2006 on March 9 with a WWE Smackdown/ECW Road to Wrestlemania show at 3 p.m. at Five Flags Center.
Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. Ticket prices are $60, $40, $30 and $20. Tickets will be available at the Five Flags ticket office, Ticketmaster outlets and online at www.Ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 563-557-8497.
WWE Superstars scheduled to appear on the card include World Heavyweight champion Edge, former world champ Batista, United States champion MVP, Rey Mysterio, Kane and Matt Hardy.
The show is a preview card to Wrestlemania 24, set for March 30 in Orlando, Fla.
