It was a slow start but a fast finish for Mendota as it rallied in the second half for a 50-44 triumph over Earlville in varsity boys’ basketball action on Dec. 4 at Earlville.
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It was a slow start but a fast finish for Mendota as it rallied in the second half for a 50-44 triumph over Earlville in varsity boys’ basketball action on Dec. 4 at Earlville.
Earlville owned a 7-5 lead after the smoke cleared in the first quarter. The Red Raiders ramped things up in the second frame when they outscored the Trojans, 16-7, to take a 23-12 lead to the locker room.
But the fortunes changed for Mendota in the second half. The Trojans caught fire, sparked by Eddie Perez, and they went on to outscore Earville, 18-7, in the third quarter to tie the game at 30-30 with the fourth quarter left to play. Perez dropped in 9 points in the third for Mendota.
The Trojans remained hot in the fourth and put up 20 points compared to 14 for Earlville to claim the hard-fought win. Perez added eight markers in the final stanza.
Perez finished with 19 points to lead all scorers. Chris Sandoval poured in 13 points and Emiliano Arteaga added 10 for the Trojans.
Tyler Bretsch led Earlville with 18 points, followed by Davis Sweeney with eight and Landon Larkin seven.
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Mendota kept the game close for one quarter, but then Genoa-Kingston pulled away for a 53-32 win over the Trojans in Big Northern Conference action on Dec. 8 at Genoa.
It was 7-6 in favor of the home team after eight minutes, but the Cogs went on a 19-8 run in the second period to take a 26-14 halftime lead.
Arteaga drained four three-pointers on his way to 20 points to lead the Trojans. Perez followed with seven markers.
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The Trojans opened the Hall Colmone Classic with a thrilling 54-52 come-from-behind victory over St. Bede on Dec. 10 at Spring Valley.
Mendota found itself staring up at deficits of 19-14 after the first quarter and 35-27 at the break. The Trojans were able to slice four points off the Bruin lead after three periods, and then Mendota outscored St. Bede, 18-12, in the final frame to complete the comeback win.
Three Trojans hit double digits in scoring, led by Arteaga with 17 points. He connected on four three-point field goals. Perez and Joel Figueroa added 12 points apiece. Figueroa led the squad with eight rebounds, one more than Cole Stremlau.
Mendota connected on only 28 percent of its field goal tries, but got off 25 more shots than St. Bede (65 to 40). The Trojans shot 68 percent from the free throw line and had 29 rebounds. The Bruins made 40 percent of their field goal attempts, 81 percent of their free tosses and had 34 caroms. Mendota (2-7) committed only seven turnovers compared to 23 for St. Bede.
