High school basketball: successful repeats

For starters, Watertown cruised past rival Carthage, 55-42 to claim the “A” Division playoff championship.

Then in the nightcap, Beaver River rolled to a 62-46 triumph over Sandy Creek to secure the “C” Division title.

WATERTOWN 55, CARTHAGE 42

Seth Charlton and Parker Moffett each scored 15 points to spark the top-seeded Cyclones past the second-seeded Comets in the first game of the night.

Patrick Duah and Jack Adams each contributed 10 points for regular-season champion Watertown (10-9).

Moffett, a junior, finished with a double-double on the night as he totaled 14 rebounds to pace the Cyclones on the boards.

Watertown also effectively shut down the Comets for most of the night as their dynamic leading scorer Trenton Walker was held to 14 points.

Watertown broke the game open early by outscoring Carthage, 20-8 in the second quarter. This surge included an 13-3 run to open the period to build a 16-point lead. In the process, the Comets were limited to one basket, an early three-pointer by Walker, for nearly a six-minute stretch.

The Cyclones would go on to lead by as many as 17 points in the third quarter and pulled away in the final period.

Watertown also made 18 of 26 free-throw attempts for the game, including making 13-for-14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Charlton was perfect from the line making all seven foul-shot attempts for the game, including draining all six in the fourth.

Ashton Norton chipped in with 11 points for Carthage (10-10), who split the two-game regular-season series with Watertown.

The Cyclones, who defeated the Comets in last year’s division final, have now won the past three playoff championships.

BEAVER RIVER 62, SANDY CREEK 46

The guard duo of Lucas Roes and Kade Schneider each scored 19 points to propel the top-seeded Beavers past the third-seeded Comets to secure the “C” Division crown.

Beaver River (14-6) successfully defended their title after winning the championship last year by knocking off top-seeded South Lewis.

This time, the Beavers raced out to an 16-11 lead over the Comets through the first quarter.

Beaver River orchestrated an 11-0 run which carried over into the second quarter and eventually expanded this into a 17-6 surge to lead by 16 points at 35-19 heading into halftime.

Roes scored 14 of his points in the first half, including 10 in the second quarter, to lead the way for the Beavers. Roes also hauled in a team-leading nine rebounds.

In the process, a patient defensive effort by Beaver River held the Comets scoreless for nearly seven minutes in the first half.

Beaver River would go on to lead by as many as 23 points in the third quarter to pull away and build a 51-31 advantage heading into the final period.

Schneider contributed 11 of his points in the second half to help put the game away.

Hudson Hunt scored 18 points and Mason Ennist chipped in with 17 points for Sandy Creek (11-9).

Sandy Creek, which defeated South Lewis in the division semifinals, competed in its first league final in boys basketball since 2015, when it defeated Beaver River.