The Neillsville Warriors and Owen-Withee Blackhawks renewed their rivalry on Tuesday night in a game that went into double overtime, as the Hawks came up just short 86-82.

In a game of scoring runs and big plays from both sides the Blackhawks and Warriors battled to the end. The Hawks came out of the gates with a 9-0 run to start the game. Free throws from Preston Fritz, a three from Winston Poehler, plus a two, along with a Talon Mueller steal and lay-up, the Hawks were out and running. The Warriors however matched that run later. A big offensive putback by Clay Mueller and a three by Talon Mueller kept the offense going. The Hawks hit their free throws helping in the scoring column, but a late 13-4 run by the Warriors gave them a 25-22 halftime lead.

Seventy-nine points would then be scored in the second half by the two teams. The Hawks used their inside/outside game which included 4 three-pointers in the half along with 14 made free throws. The Warriors caught fire from deep in the half, hitting nine threes. With four minutes left, the Hawks trailed by nine, but continued aggressively forward, scoring on 9 of their last 11 possessions. Key baskets by Poehler and Fritz got it close along with a steal by Colton Paczkowski and assists ahead to a streaking Clay Mueller for two, cut it to one, 59-58. After Neillsville scored, Jack Wendler knocked in a pair of free throws. Then with 12 seconds to go, down by three the Hawks spaced the Warriors out and Winston Poehler hit a three at the buzzer to force overtime.

Tied at 63, the teams battled and traded leads. Poehler scored seven in the overtime to lead the Hawks and a big drive by Paczkowski gave them a brief lead. After Neillsville hit one free throw to tie, the Hawks came down and got a great look that spun out, keeping the score at 72-72.

On to the second overtime, where both teams continued to trade leads again. A big three by Talon Mueller matched Neillsville. Later Paczkowski hit a pair of threes for the Hawks, but the Warriors hit their free throws and won 86-82.

Box Score: Poehler 28 pts, 13 rebs, 5 asts, 4 stls; Paczkowski 16 pts, 2 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls; Fritz 16 pts, 6 rebs; Talon Mueller 10 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts; Wendler 6 pts, 8 rebs; Clay Mueller 6 pts, 8 rebs, 3 asts; Sam Wells 1 reb; Pyrchalla 1 ast.

Coach's Comments

This is how talented, balanced and competitive the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference is, as there are no easy games. Our guys battled and kept making plays and never let up. We had good energy the entire game, and as we may have made some mistakes, we didn't let it bother us as we kept playing and made up for it. We continually gave ourselves a chance to win. This is how the rest of the year is going to play out. Our schedule is tough, our Regional is tough, our Sectional is tough. More importantly, our guys are tough. We don't want it any other way, we are playing meaningful games at the end of the year.