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It is a good bet anyone who paid the few bucks to see the Dodgeville-River Valley SWC battle would not feel the investment in the ticket was wasted.
It was a up and down the court rip snorter that featured a career night by Dodgeville's Nick Crowley and a game that was close until the end.
The only downside came on the River Valley side was they had hoped to win and stay with league leader Richland Center.
Both Dodgeville and River Valley are 6-3 after the game which gives Richland Center a two game lead.
Crowley had a light it up night for the Dodgers and poured in 38 points. He had 11 field goals--three from behind the arc--and put in 13 of 16 free throws. The senior guard had 19 both halves but got those totals in contrasting ways.
All of Crowley's points the first half came from the field. 13 of his 19 the second half were free throws.
Junior Nate Hottmann also had a big night for the Dodgers with 23 points. Between them they totaled 61 of Dodgeville's 76 points. They were particularily strong the final frame when Crowley scored 10 and Hottmann eight.
River Valley had three players in double figures with Tayt Caraway's 16 leading the way. Carter Hoffman and Brandon Noble both added 15.
Dodgeville got the early adauntage with leads of 5-0, 10-2, 16-2 in some frustrating moments for the Blackhawks.
"We were getting good looks at the basket but were not able to convert while Dodgeville took advantage of the missed shots and got their transition game up and running at full speed," said River Valley coach Jeff Johnson. "To our kids credit, they did not get mentally down and chipped away at the lead and finally tied the score at 22-22."
The tie came on a on a Carter Hoffman three point basket with 7:09 left in the second quarter. Part of the comeback run was highlighted by a Brandon Noble half court buzzer beater to end the first quarter with Dodgeville in the lead 22-16. "
"Brandon's shot gave us a lot of momentum going into the second quarter," Johnson said.
The second quarter was a picture of back and forth basketball with the two teams again tied at 37-37 at the half.
"That's a huge amount of points to be on the board at half time as we only scored 30 points in the entire Mauston game on Tuesday," Johnson said.
The second half started with River Valley taking a four point lead on an offensive rebound put-back by Taylor Thering. That put the Hawks up 50-46 with 1:25 to play in the third frame.
But the Dodgers owned the closing minutes of the frame and finished the quarter on a Dodgeville 6-0 run. Hottmann hit a two point basket and Crowley went 4-4 from the free throw line.
It was free throws that turned the game towards the Dodgers in the second half as River Valley uncharacteristically got themselves in foul trouble putting Dodgeville in the bonus situation by the middle of the third quarter.
"Dodgeville is just too good of a shooting team to put them at the line so early in the game," said Johnson. Dodgeville outscored RV at the line by 13 points as they made 23 to 12 for the Hawks.
The last time the game was tied was 55-55 on an offensive rebound basket by Carter Hoffman with 5:33 to go in the game.
Dodgeville then made 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch.
"Once again, what a great high school basketball game between the two schools," Johnson said. "The fans certainly got their money's worth as it was quite an offensive showing from both teams. It's a shame that either team had to lose that game."
He felt Crowley's performance was the difference.
"Unfortunately for us, Crowley had a career night," Johnson said. "He is such a complete player and can hurt you in so many different ways. We really had no answers on ways to control him on Dodgeville's offensive end of the floor. His 38 points came in many different forms - transition lay-ups, dribble drives, three point shots, and getting to the free throw line where he was 13 of 16 on his own - all in the third and fourth quarters."
The Hawks play league leading Richland Center on Friday night at home.
Next Tuesday the fifth seeded Blackhawks host the 12 seeded Green Devils from Adams-Friendship at 7 p.m.
Dodgeville coach Ryan Bohnsack agreed that the game was a classic between the two teams.
"We came out with a fast start and went up 19-2 but they came back and tied it," Bohnsack said.  "It was a back and forth SWC battle. We got the plays down the stretch to win it.
Bohnsack felt Austin Larson's defensive work and Crowley's strong performance at the free throw line were keys to the win.
"We also had a good offensive night from Nate Hottmann," Bohnsack said. "Nick and Nate carried us offensively and the team got it done defensively."
Bohnsack will not be surprised to see the Hawks again this season.
"River Valley is a good team and we'll probably meet them again in regionals," Bohnsack said.
The Dodgers host Lancaster Friday to close out the regular season then open post season with Wautoma at home Tuesday.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
D 22 15 15 24 76
RV 16 21 13 19 69
BOX SCORE
DODGEVILLE 76: (fg-ft-tp)
Nelson 0-0-0, Larson 1-1-3, Hottmann 6-8-23, Rohowetz 2-1-5, Crowley 11-13-38, Olson 3-0-6, Gullickson 0-0-0 Totals 20-23/28-76 Fouls-13
RIVER VALLEY 69: Hoffman 6-0-15, DeVita 4-1-9, Noble 5-4-16, Bindl 1-0-2, Caraway 5-5-16, Mueller 1-0-3, Thering 4-0-8 Totals 26-10/14-69 Fouls-21 Fouled out-Hoffman
3 point goals:
D-Crowley 3, Hottmann 3, Rohowetz 1
RV-Hoffman 3, Noble 2, Caraway 1, Mueller 1