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Pec Indians off to 2-0 start
By Trenten Scheidegger
The Pecatonica boys’ basketball team is off to a 2-0 start on the young 2022-2023 season. The Indians, led by Head Coach Bobby Heisler, will rely on their size advantage throughout the year. Through their early games, the Indians have been led by their sophomore point guard, Cooper Hoffman. At six-foot tall, Hoffman offers the Indians a sizeable guard that can get to the basket.
Down low, Hoffman has options to get the ball in the post. Not only does Hoffman’s height allow him to see the passing lanes, but Korbin Gann, a six-foot, five-inch forward and Briaun Green, a six-foot, three-inch forward, give the young guard some sizeable options to move the ball around.
Hoffman leads the team in scoring through two games with just over 17 points per game. Gann is next up with fourteen points per game. Meanwhile, Brody Black, a five-foot, ten-inch sophomore, is averaging 12 points-per-game. Although it’s early on, perhaps the most exciting thing about this Indians team is their young, offensive talent.
The Indians opened their season with a home matchup against the Winnebago Indians on Saturday, Nov. 26. It was also the season opener for Winnebago as two fresh teams hit the floor for their 2022-2023 campaign.
It was Pecatonica who had the hot hand early on. They outscored Winnebago 22-12 in the opening quarter as it looked like they would run away with this one.
Winnebago would respond in the second quarter, however. While Winnebago put up 16 points, they managed to hold Pecatonica to just nine second quarter points.
They managed to make things a game again as Pecatonica took a 31-28 lead into the halftime break.
It was Pecatonica who came out of the break with the hot hand, once again. They outscored Winnebago 16-7 in the third to help expand their lead to 12 points as they led 47-35. The fourth quarter was a much more even matchup, but it was too little, too late for the Winnebago offense.
Pecatonica relied heavily on their sophomore duo as Hoffman led the team in scoring with 16 points. Black was right behind him with 14. They both had efficient nights on offense as Hoffman shot 60 percent from the field and Black was at an even more impressive 71 percent. Drew Williams, a six-foot, one-inch junior, was next up with nine points. Gann finished the night with six points of his own.
Pecatonica was back on the court just a few days later, with another tough matchup ahead of them. The Genoa-Kingston Cogs made the trip to Pecatonica to face off with the Indians on Tuesday, Nov. 29. The Cogs came into the game with a bit more experience on the year as they boasted a 3-1 record.
Despite the tough matchup, Pecatonica’s offense was firing on all cylinders. The Indians jumped out to an early lead when they outscored the Cogs 19-14 in the opening quarter.
Much like their season opener, the second quarter was a tough one for the Indians. Genoa-Kingston responded by outscoring Pecatonica 19-15 to cut the Indians’ lead down to one. By the end of the first half, things were setup for an exciting finish as the Indians took a 34-33 lead into the break.
The second half was even more similar to the season opener as the Indians came out strong, following the break. Genoa-Kingston had no answers for the Pecatonica offense as the Indians put up over 20 points in each of the final two quarters.
It was Gann who played the difference in this one as he led the Indians with twenty-two points on the night. Hoffman was right behind him with 19 and Mason Peterson added 11 of his own. Black was the fourth Indian to reach double digits on the night as he finished with 10 points. Jaxon Diedrich added six points as the Indians picked up the 77-68 victory.
After getting off to the 2-0 start, the Indians have another impressive opponent lined up as they will travel to face off with the 6-0 Scales Mound Hornets on Thursday, Dec. 8.
