Hardin County vs. Waltonville - 1A Trico Sectional Semifinals

1A Trico Sectional

Hardin County

Waltonville

Hardin County (43) - Massie 2 0 0-0 4, Fricker 4 1 1-1 12, Banks 3 3 0-0 15, Heberer 0 0 0-0 0, Winters 0 1 0-0 3, Belford 1 0 0-0 2, Whooper 0 1 0-0 3, Fulkerson 1 0 0-0 2, Leroy 1 0 0-0 2, Gibbons 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-12/3FG-6/FT-1-1/PF-8.

Waltonville (64) – Devor 2 2 0-0 10, Rose 0 0 0-0 0, Peterson 6 0 0-0 12, R. Stewart 9 0 1-5 19, Mayville 5 0 0-0 10, Klingler 0 1 0-0 3, C. Stewart 1 0 2-2 4, Bequette 0 0 0-0 0, Hopper 0 2 0-0 6, Dees 0 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0 0-0 0, Brelje 0 0 0-0 0, Shaw 0 0 0-0 0, Mannen 0 0 0-0 0. 2FG-15/3FG-2/FT-8-10/PF-17.

Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.

SPARTANS TAKE NEXT STEP
State-ranked Waltonville handles Hardin County; improves to 30-4

03/03/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
CAMPBELL HILL - For the past two seasons, the Waltonville Spartans captured regional championships only to fail to get past the semifinal round of the sectional each time.

But the next rung on the ladder this postseason was much easier to climb when the Spartans took the floor Tuesday night at the 1A Trico Sectional.

The balance of Coach Anthony Lowery's squad was on full display in their 64-43 win over Hardin County, which extended the school record season to 30-4 and a date with either Sparta or Goreville on Friday night.

The Spartans haven't won a sectional championship since 1990 but are on the verge of making history, reaching their first sectional title tilt since 1991.

They made it to this point of the season by strangling teams defensively and throwing multiple offensive weapons at the opposition.

Tuesday night followed the blueprint.

Waltonville set the tone early and pulled away from the Cougars.

Hardin County, a program playing in just their fourth sectional semifinal in history, fell to 26-8 on the season.

“In the moment obviously they (the losses) were awful for us. They hurt. But honestly they made these guys so much stronger and hungrier,” said Coach Lowery about the two sectional losses to Mounds Meridian the past two seasons. “We had such a good summer. Our workouts were so competitive everyday. I think it just lit a fire under these guys. We hope we don't let that happen again.”

Riley Stewart again came up huge for the Spartans.

His 19-points led all scorers and defensively he was equally impressive, guarding Hardin County's top scorer Nate Massie.

Senior Gage Peterson added 12-points to his all-time leading scorer figures for Waltonville while junior Jagger Mayville contributed 10-points as did junior guard Witten Devor.

Devor drilled home an early 3-pointer to break the game's only tie for a 5-2 lead with under a minute gone in the first quarter.

“Gage (Peterson) is an all-stater. I don't know if he broke double-figures or not. But you wouldn't know it by his demeanor. He's still sliding over, blocking shots, getting rebounds and pumping up his teammates,” said Coach Lowery. “When you have leaders like that, it's so much easier for everybody else to fall in line. We've got a good thing going and we hope to keep it going for a few more weeks here and see what happens.”

Hardin County, after a narrow win over Norris City-Omaha-Enfield on Friday night to nab the Gallatin County Regional championship, were no match for the Spartans.

The careers of four senior starters ended on Tuesday night.

Landon Fricker, Nate Massie, Caden Heberer and Christian Winters were part of a 62-victories in the past three seasons.

Fricker was second on the club in scoring on Tuesday with 12-points while Massie finished with just a pair of baskets for four-points.

Winters hit a 3-pointer for his only points for the Cougars.

The top Hardin County point producer was junior Bryden Banks with 15.

Banks hit his first shot, a 3-pointer in the first quarter, that closed the Waltonville lead to just 7-5 before the Spartans took command.

(CONTINUED)

An 11-4 run closed the first quarter with Peterson starting the blitz with a rebound of his own missed shot for his second inside score.

Stewart scored seven of his points early, and Mayville scored on a nice drive in the lane as the quarter ended at 18-9 Waltonville.

The Spartans great start (8-of-11 from the field) offensively was matched by an early defensive effort, holding Hardin County to just 4-of-13 with a couple of turnovers.

Junior guard Carter Stewart hit a pair of free throws for Waltonville in the second quarter.

It was the only points of the frame that wasn't an inside two-point score.

All six of the baskets came in the paint as the Spartans closed the half up 14.

Peterson and Riley Stewart added consecutive baskets and Mayville followed up a missed shot for a basket before also scoring on a drive inside the paint.

Stewart converted a steal and fast break lay in for a 32-18 halftime advantage.

“Waltonville is a really good team and we knew that coming in,” said Coach Rodney Lane. “You can look at what they did all year. They're big, they can shoot the ball and they have a really good chance of going deep (into the state tournament),” said Coach Lane.

Coach Lowery's teams blanketed Hardin County and forced five more Cougars' turnovers before the break.

As he did in the first quarter, Devor nailed down another 3-point shot to begin a 9-0 run for a 41-20 lead with 5:06 remaining in the third quarter.

Fricker scored eight of his points in the third for Hardin County with a 3-pointer and a conventional three-point play.

Stewart closed his night with another inside bucket before a 3-point bomb by senior reserve Brendan Klingler pushed the lead to 52-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Peterson added to his scoring with two straight scores to begin the final eight minutes and another bench player; senior Zach Hopper, nailed the first of his two fourth quarter 3-point shots as both coaches used mostly backups in the final 4:38 of the game.

The Spartans hit 28-of-45 shots overall and 5-of-13 from the 3-point line while holding a 25-16 rebounding edge.

Peterson grabbed nine of the rebounds for the Spartans as they held Hardin County to just three offensive rebounds through three quarters of play.

The Cougars were just 18-of-46 from the floor, 6-of-16 from long range.

Waltonville committed just five of their eight turnovers in the first 24 minutes.

“I'm proud of every one of them. They got a lot accomplished this year. We won the Eldorado Holiday Tournament consolation championship, we were conference champions and conference tournament champions. And we won a regional championship,” said Coach Lane. “All of that after starting 1-5. They righted the ship and never gave up. Tonight we were just outmatched.”

The Spartans will face a challenge on Friday night against either Goreville or Sparta.

The Blackcats edged Waltonville 40-39 to win the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament championship on a free throw with no time remaining on the clock.

Sparta topped Woodlawn to win their own regional last Friday.

“This team shares the ball than any group I've ever seen, coached, been around, played for. They play for each other, they really do,” said Coach Lowery. “For them to be able to play that way at 17 and 18-years old is special. They're like brothers out there. They're best friends on the floor and they're so competitive and so locked in. They're not satisfied with this one. I don't know if you could hear but we weren't celebrating. We're ready for what is coming. Friday we have a tough test either way.”