Hawks start slow, but rally to beat Panthers and advance in regional play

OREGON – After going on the road and beating Erie-Prophetstown 64-41 four days earlier, Oregon did not expect to be trailing by 12 points to the Panthers early in the second quarter of the 2A regional on Monday.

But that was the case at the Blackhawk Center where Hawk coach Jarrett Reynolds told his team, “This is the post season. Everyone is playing like it’s the last game.”

That was during a first quarter timeout after E-P jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Fortunately for Oregon, they finally got untracked and came away with a hard-fought 51-42, this after both teams were tied at 33 apiece going into the final 8 minutes.

“That’s all you can ask for,” E-P coach Ryan Winckler said. “I thought we did a good job of executing, but didn’t take care of the ball in the fourth.”

The Panthers had seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, but the real turning point of the game came shortly after they had the 18-6 lead on a Connor Keegan 3-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter and eight first-quarter points by sophomore Evan Steimle.

Keaton Salsbury started a rally for Oregon with an old-fashioned 3-pointer, with Tucker O’Brien doing the same. Then Kade Girton took control with back-to-back 3-pointers, followed by another basket to give the Hawks a 24-22 lead.

“Kade put the team on his back. It was a senior being a senior,” Reynolds said. “I’m proud of our guys for chipping away after being down.”

Salsbury tacked on another 3 to maintain the lead 27-25 at halftime. Keegan Winckler helped Erie-Prophetstown regain the lead 32-28 with a pair of baskets early in the third quarter.

Nole Campos pulled Oregon to within 32-29, but both teams went cold from the field the rest of the quarter. The problem for Erie-Prophetstown was extending its cold streak of 17 possessions with only one point until four minutes remained in he game.

By then, Oregon had a 40-33 lead, on another O’Brien basket and free throw after being fouled. Steimle finally got Erie-Prophetstown on the board to cut into the lead, but Oregon quickly got it back up to 44-35.

Employing a three-quarter court trap, all the Panthers could do was foul in the final two minutes.

The Hawks only made 5 of 10 free throws, but missed shots and turnovers prevented the Panthers from getting any closer.

Using only a 6-man rotation without a senior on it, fatigue also had to be a factor for Erie-Prophetstown in the loss. Oregon had a 13-5 rebounding edge in the fourth quarter.

“We’re used to playing with six guys. We’ve been doing it all year,” Winckler said. “We had shots we wanted. We didn’t finish around the basket.”

Steimle led the Panthers with 15 points, followed by Keegan with 11 and Winckler with 6. Another factor in the loss was shooting 4-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Girton was top scorer for Oregon with 16 points. Benny Olade added 10 and Salsbury 9 points.

Both teams played hard. It was very physical,” Reynolds said. “They (E-P) set the tone early and gave us a wake-up call. Our guys realized it could be a last game.”

Oregon moved to a 18-14 record and will face Rock Falls at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at the Manlius (Bureau Valley) 2A regional. The regional championship is Friday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m.

Erie-Prophetstown ends the season at 8-19.

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Erie-Prophetstown's Keegan Winckler (eft) and Oregon's Kade Girton dive after a loose ball on Monday, Feb. 24, 2025 in 2A regional action at the Blackhawk Center in Oregon. (Earleen Hinton)