Byron falls short in battle with No. 1 Pecatonica

BYRON — If Pecatonica’s undefeated basketball team gets into a close game in the postseason, it may be grateful for the test Byron provided. In an 83-70 Pecatonica win, it was still a one-possession game midway through the fourth quarter.

This after Cason Newton hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Byron with 68-65. Newton – the only returning starter from last year’s state third-place finisher – scorched the Associated Press Class 1A No. 1 team for 33 points, with an evenly balanced 17 in the first half and 16 in the second.

In its last two games, Pecatonica held entire teams to the same or fewer total points than that. And Newton had to work for his shots, seven of which were from beyond the arc.

“Newton was phenomenal,” Pecatonica coach Bobby Heisler. “He shot lights-out.”

In the end, the biggest difference proved to be the poise and experience of Pecatonica over the youth of Byron, which started all underclassmen.

“Pec’s been playing three years together and have had close calls in almost getting to state,” Byron coach Matt Huels said. “That’s like 90 games together. They will win the state championship.”

Byron was in attack mode from the start, taking a 14-7 lead after a string of seven missed shots by the Indians, its longest drought of the game. Pec did regain a 43-40 lead at half, but Heisler knew his team was in trouble.

“I thought our defense wasn’t where it needed to be,” said Heisler. “The Byron coaches had a game plan, and we were outplayed. We cannot allow 70 points.”

The previous highs scored on Pecatonica was 62 by Harlem and 61 by Platteville.

In the third quarter, Cooper Hoffman had two easy layups to give Pec its largest lead of the game at 58-50. It was Hoffman sealing the win with two baskets underneath at the end.

“Cooper plays at such a high level, he makes it look easy. The game slows down for players like him,” Heisler said.

Joining Hoffman in the fourth-quarter scoring spree was 6-foot-3 senior Jaxon Diedrich, who had three consecutive baskets to make it 79-67. The 22 points by Hoffman, 21 by Diedrich, 18 by Brody Black and 13 by Jordan Gassman were all from senior starters.

“It was still a struggle against Byron,” Hoffman said. “We knew coming in they were going to give us a game, and they did.”

For Byron (16-5), sophomore Ben Hively added 10 points, junior Caden Considine nine, and sophomore JJ Edmonson and freshman Kaden McGough seven each. Considine made his physical presence felt inside with decisive drives to the basket and kickbacks to open shooters.

“Our young kids had an amazing effort,” Huels said. “Coming into the season, we didn’t know how it was going to look. There’s a lot of potential here.”