February 14 - A Valentine's Day Special. Ya just gotta love these rivalry games. You know it's a big game when the parking encroaches upon the New Glarus Woods State Park and the crowds bring that indefatigable, atavistic energy rooted in the old State Line League (1927-1997).

In keeping with the moment, it was a choral group of NGHS that opened the evening with a most beautiful rendition of our National Anthem, singing it the way it was meant to be sung - a reminder of that bigger picture and our role in it. (They get my vote to open next year's Super Bowl!)

The Glarner Knights opened the contest with an aggressive zone defense that produced some early turnovers. The Wildcats countered with full court pressure of their own. Each team would let their defense do the talking in a low scoring first 10 minutes. The lead changed hands readily until the Cats went on a mini-run to give them a 32-27 lead at the end of the first stanza.

The Belleville offense came alive in the second, racing to a 40-29 lead at the 13:01 mark, largely due to an outstanding inside game. The New Glarus defense stiffened and produced a number of turnovers and breakaways to close the gap at 47-45 with 6:03 left to play. The Knight's A.C. Strok closed it even further with his "and-one", making it a 49-48 game Cats. But that was as close as his team would come, as Belleville's Nathan Meier, DeMarcus Conner and Andrew Ace went on a 10-point run of their own. Sprinkle in a few free throws and NG was down 60-50 with 1:41 to play. Now forced to foul, and facing a repellant and unforgiving offensive rim, it was a toxic combination that the Wildcats could ride out to a 65-52 hard earned victory. With this, their second win in the rivalry series, Belleville could lay claim to that mythical Hwy 69 Crown, and also a 2-game lead in the Capitol South with three games left to play.

The Glarner Knight's senior A.C. Strok led all scorers with 20 points. Belleville's scoring was well balanced with Kaden DeSmet, DeMarcus Conner and Jack Erickson adding 12, 14, and 16 points, respectively. Those hoping that these teams could meet yet again in the upcoming WIAA tournament will be disappointed to hear that they are now in separate divisions. Best of luck to both schools as they close out their seasons and enter the WIAA tournament.

The Wildcats close out regular season play with a game against Waterloo at home on February 23rd. The Knights played at Lodi on February 20th and will play at Marshall on February 23rd.