Cerro Gordo senior Kaleb Krigbaum walked out of the locker room at Atwood-Hammond high school with an ice pack in his right hand and a molar in the left.
He was a sight to summarize the week Cerro Gordo went through to get a 56-52 win over Arcola in the Little Okaw Valley conference tournament championship on Saturday, Jan. 28.
The Broncos ran through three teams to claim their first LOVC tournament title in three years, finding redemption against Okaw Valley in the semifinals and surviving against Arcola.
“We won it in '08 and I've felt like we've had a chance to win another in the past few years,” said coach Scott Bacon. “The last couple years, we really talked about wanting to win the LOVC tournament and just came up short a couple times. It feels really good to get this. We struggled a little bit and we've had some growing pains. It feels good to bounce back and get the Okaw Valley monkey off our back. Then play really well here and get it done.”
Cerro Gordo withstood a late charge by the Purple Riders, who led 43-42 at the end of the third quarter after stringing together a late 8-0 run.
The Broncos responded by outscoring Arcola 14-9 in a hard final eight minutes.
“Maybe it sounds cocky, but I really thought we would be okay,” said Bacon. “After last night, my confidence in this team has been restored. I just feel like I'm walking around with a little more pep in my step. The guys are playing really well. I had no doubts we would pull it out.”
Senior Tim Weaver scored a game-high 22 points to pace the Broncos, hitting on five three-point attempts.
Senior Devin McWillams added 13 points and Krigbaum chipped in eight points before exiting late in the fourth after a collision left his tooth lodged in an Arcola players head.
The win improved the Broncos overall record to 13-6 and gives them a three game winning streak heading into the second half of the LOVC regular season play.
“It just raises (the confidence) back up,” said Bacon. “This makes you feel like you can keep the run going and go right in the post season. We still have a shot at the regular season crown too. Arcola is still undefeated and we have one loss, but we have them back at our place. If we take care of business we'll still have a chance. Hopefully, we'll be there right at the end.”
Cerro Gordo sits at 4-1 in the LOVC. The lone loss came against Okaw Valley in the Broncos final game before the tournament.
The loss was redeemed in the tournament semifinals on Friday, where Cerro Gordo outscored the Timberwolves 26-18 in the fourth quarter to secure a 65-57 win.
Senior Austin Crist had 19 points and Weaver finished with 16. McWilliams also had seven.
The win was the Broncos first in three games with Okaw Valley this season. The Timberwolves also won an eight point game over Cerro Gordo during the St. Teresa holiday tournament.
“We realized we had to tweak some things a little bit to try to compete with them,” said Bacon. “We did some different things defensively and the guys executed very well. We had a nice mix of running when it was there and running the half court offense. That is something we've struggled with and we did a nice job during the tournament.”
Cerro Gordo advanced the semifinals with a 65-48 win over Shiloh on Monday.
Senior Cody Woollen had a team-high 13 points and Crist added 11.
Weaver finished with 10.