Pekin Falls in District Finale

OTTUMWA — Strategy one in basketball is get the ball to the player who can put in the hoop when you need the task completed. Pekin and West Burlington did just that Feb. 23 in a Class 2A District Final game in Ottumwa. West Burlington’s Colton Sherwood was able to hit a few more shots than Pekin’s Brady Millikin to earn a 74-59 win.

Both seniors battled to lead their respective teams with Sherwood finishing with 27 while Millikin had 25. The difference came from the 3-point arc as Sherwood drained five. Millikin hit two.

“They ran a box-and-one on me and my job was to keep the flow going,” said Millikin, who played his final game as a Panther. “They took it to the basket and when we covered, they kicked it out and they hit tough shots. They were able to make the shots when they needed to.”

West Burlington opened the game on a 5-0 run but Millikin scored seven and Sherwood had six as the teams played to a 17-17 tie after one period. The teams traded baskets and leads in the second before the Falcons went on a 6-2 run in the final two minutes to take a 36-32 halftime lead.

Pekin had a strong third quarter outscoring the Falcons 13-9 and looked to be heading into the final frame with a lead before the Falcons’ Brady Martin let lose a three-ball with a second left to tie the game for the third time in the quarter.

“We had a really good streak in the third quarter,” said Pekin head coach John Swanson. “That three at the end took away our momentum. We had poor defensive possessions in the fourth quarter and didn’t have people looking to score until late in the game. Give them credit, they shot lights out at the arc.”

Millikin and Sherwood again traded buckets in the final period but Sherwood’s came from the arc and Millikin’s on dribble-drive. Sherwood’s final three gave the Falcons a 10-point lead and then they went 9-for-12 at the free throw line to seal the game.

Pekin outshot the Falcons shooting 54 percent from the field and were a perfect 4-for-4 at the line. West Burlington shot 43.8 percent. Pekin turned the ball over 10 times to five for WB.

Pekin (17-3) was led by Millikin’s 25. Brayden Sobaski finished with 17 and Long has 13. Cael Lyle hit for six. Lyle led the rebounding with six and Sobaski had five. WB out rebounded Pekin 24-21.

Behind Sherwood in scoring was Darion Johnson with 18 and Marvion Jackson with 12.

West Burlington (16-6) will play Camanche (17-6) in a substate game in Muscatine with a berth in the state tournament on the line. 

Five seniors saw their careers come to an end. Coach Swanson said he was proud of all they had accomplished. Millikin, Long, Sobaski, Lyle and Braden Latcham played their final game as Panthers.

“These guys are the winningest group in Pekin basketball history,” said Swanson. “They have three conference titles. We just don’t have a lot of postseason success but these guys have. They are just a great

group of guys.”

Score by quarter

WB 17 19 9 29 – 74

Pekin 17 15 13 14 – 59