By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Don’t look now, but the Big Foot boys basketball team is putting together a little bit of a roll.
The Chiefs, who endured a 13-game losing streak earlier in the season, put their third straight “W” on the board Friday night with a convincing 55-44 Rock Valley Conference victory at Parkview.
Big Foot improved to 6-15 overall and 5-10 in the RVC South with just one regular-season game at Palmyra-Eagle, which was set for Thursday night.
This mini streak has been just what the team needed, Big Foot coach Mike Dowden said.
“I think guys are happy to see rewards of winning after the tough stretch,” he said. “But I’m more impressed with their desire to keep working through the good and bad times.”
Big Foot led 24-18 at halftime and sealed things with a 31-26 advantage during the final 18 minutes.
Dowden said his team was able to adjust to a few surprises that Parkview through at the Chiefs.
“We were able to execute, even though we were presented with some things we did not expect,” he said. “Parkview slowed the game down on us and we were out of rhythm, but just trusted that we would eventually hit a rhythm, and we did.”
Beau Cary led the way with a double-double, as he tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds, followed by Logan Eischeid with 16 points and Jackson Enz with nine points and three steals.
Next on the Chiefs’ to-do list is the finale with Palmyra-Eagle and the chance to add another victory to the current streak.
“We wanted to finish the season with four straight regular-season wins, and we have a chance to do that,” Dowden said. “With all the ups and downs we had this season, we knew there would be a good chance for us to show that we are the second-best team in the league, and our goal is still to do that.”
Beloit Turner long ago clinched the South Division, and the Trojans enters the final week at 14-1, well ahead of Clinton’s 6-9 conference mark. Big Foot is next at 5-10, followed by Brodhead at 4-11 and Palmyra and Parkview at 2-13.
Tourney opens Tuesday
Big Foot drew the 11th seed and travels to sixth-seeded East Troy on Tuesday night for a Division 3 regional opener.
East Troy beat the Chiefs 89-35 at the end of January.
“They are really good offensively, and we cannot let them get started,” Dowden said. “We will have some things in place to try to slow them down, but I believe our offense will be as much of a key to that as our defense will be.
“We cannot let them get out in transition. We need to take care of the ball, and we need to play with a chip on our shoulder. We know we got whooped last time, but we also know that was not our best. We will be eager to give them our best shot on Tuesday.”
The winner faces either third-seeded Beloit Turner or 14th-seeded Palmyra-Eagle in a regional semifinal Friday, March 3. The regional final is Saturday, March 4.
