The Mauston Golden Eagles boys’ basketball team renewed their rivalry with the Adams-Friendship Green Devils Tuesday night at home as both teams returned from the holiday break. The Green Devils were a part of the Reedsburg Tournament over the break, while the Golden Eagles had the last few weeks off. Mauston was looking to rebound after their narrow loss to Richland Center at home before the break, while Adams-Friendship was looking to snap a 7-game losing streak.

Both teams came out shooting well in the first few minutes of the game, but it didn’t take long for Mauston to pull away. The Golden Eagles led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, and then extended to 32-14 at halftime. It was all Mauston in the second-half as the Golden Eagles limited the Green Devils to just 6-points in the final two quarters. Adams-Friendship didn’t score until the final minute of the third quarter for their first points of the second-half. Mauston led 44-16 at the end of the third quarter, and finished with a 54-20 final score. It was a little redemption for the Golden Eagles who lost two heartbreakers last season to Adams-Friendship losing by one and two-points to be swept by the Green Devils in conference play.

Adams-Friendship was led in scoring by senior Chase Schwersenska who made two quick 3-pointers in the first quarter, but then went cold the rest of the night. Seniors Taylor Wormet and Austin Janisch and freshman Hunter Sipla all finished with 4-points a piece, and freshman Chris Becker added 2-points to account for all of the Green Devils’ points. Adams-Friendship only attempted one free-throw in the game, which was a miss.

Mauston was led by junior Joel Heesch who finished with 24-points to lead all scorers. Senior Taylor Ingraham added 8-points, senior Andy Thrams contributed 6-points off the bench, senior Jack Orton had 5-points, juniors Ross Thompson and Hunter Nelson finished with 4-points a piece, and senior Dale Osthoff added one 3-pointer off the bench. The Golden Eagles shot just 52% from the free-throw line making 9 of 17.

Mauston improves to 6-3 overall on the season, and remains undefeated at 3-0 in the South Central Conference. Adams-Friendship falls to 1-8 overall and 0-3 in the conference. Mauston will have a week off before they travel to Pardeeville Tuesday night for non-conference play, and then head to Wisconsin Dells for a battle of the conference unbeatens on Friday night. The Chiefs are 7-1 overall and will be the toughest competition of the year for the Golden Eagles.