Princeton used a strong fourth quarter to claim a 49-40 victory over Mendota in a Three Rivers Conference sophomore boys’ basketball game on Jan. 5 at the Mendota gym.

Princeton owned the lead throughout the first half, going on top 14-8 after the first quarter and 24-18 at halftime. Mendota outscored the visitors, 12-6, in the third period to tie the game at 30-all, but Princeton exploded for 19 points in the final frame compared to 10 for the Trojans.

Alex Beetz knocked down three shots from three-point land and paced the Trojans with 11 points, while Dane Doyle contributed nine markers.

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Mendota mounted a second-half comeback, but fell short of LaSalle-Peru, 54-50, on Jan. 6 at LaSalle.

The two teams played to an 11-11 tie after the opening stanza, but L-P put up 19 second-quarter points and the Trojans mustered only nine. Mendota climbed back into the game with a 19-13 third quarter, however, the home team was able to maintain the lead in the final period.

Johan Cortez led Mendota scorers with 19 points as he converted three shots from beyond the three-point arc. Doyle checked in with 12 tallies and Alex Beetz added eight.