Malta had beaten Paw Paw by 29 points earlier in the season, but returned the favor as they opened the game leading 16-8 after the opening quarter and 38-15 at halftime.

Gary Safranek led the Bulldogs with 22 points, Scott Torman was next in line with 21, while Jim Spears added 11. Jim Stoddard led the Mustangs with 14, Everett Lunn chipped in 10.

Somonauk trailed 8-3 after one quarter, but used a 23-8 second period advantage to all but put the game away. They then out-scored Waterman 36-15 in the second half.

Al Koehler led the Bobcats with 16 points, Robin Voss added 15, and Denny Wiley 11. Waterman's high scorer was Mark Johnson with 10.

Serena, who trailed 23-18 at the intermission, out-scored third-ranked Earlville 16-4 in the third quarter and went on to pull off the upset.

Wayne Decker led the Huskers with 17 points, Jim Pfau added 13, while Paul Jansen chipped in 12. The Red Raiders were paced by 11 points from Curt Imel and 10 from Larry Imel. LTC leading scorer Francis Yabsley was held to just five points.

H-BR led 34-33 at halftime, then out-scored Leland 14-6 in the third period and 19-11 in the fourth.

Don Austin led the Royals with 17 points, while Bruce Ludwig and Mike Serrurier each had 14, and Doug Nehring 11. Leland's Ken Johnson scored a game-high 20 points, Tom Allen chipped in 18.

Top-ranked Newark led Paw paw only 12-10 after the first frame, but extended their lead to 26-13 at halftime and 36-19 after three quarters.

Dave Thompson was high-scorer for the Norsemen with 24, Brian Anderson added 16. Scott Torman was the only player in double-figures for the Bulldogs netting 14 points.

Somonauk jumped out to a 17-14 lead after the opening quarter, but second-ranked Shabbona crept back to take a 28-26 lead at halftime. The game was tied at 41-41 heading to the fourth where the Indians out-pointed the Bobcats 17-14 to advance.

Leon Oleson and Dave Miller led Shabbona with 14 points each, Rodney Fultz added 13. For Somonuak, Robin Voss and Al Koehler shared game-high honors, each scoring 20 points in defeat.

Newark and H-BR were tied at 10-10 after one quarter in their semifinal matchup. Norsemen's Dave Thompson scored eight points in the second frame to help his club to a 20-15 lead at the break. The Royals cut it to 31-29 going to the fourth, but Thompson's nine markers were part of a 17-8 Newark scoring advantage in the quarter as they moved to 11-3 on the year and moved into the championship game in hopes of defending their title.

Thompson ended with a game-high 21 points, Doug Knudson added 13. The Royals were led by Don Austin's 10 points.

Shabbona led 30-20 at the intermission and out-scored Serena 9-6 in the third to advance to the championship game for the second straight season, once again to face Newark.

The Indians held a 31-28 advantage in rebounds, hit 20-of-33 (61-percent) form the floor and moved to 13-1 on the season.

Art Espe and Rodney Fultz had 17 points each to lead Shabbona, while Leon Oleson added 13. Serena's Paul Jansen scored 15 and Wayne Decker chipped in 12.

H-BR led 18-9 after the opening eight minutes and 35-22 at halftime. Serena cut the lead to 49-41 heading to the fourth, but the Royals were able to hold on for the win.

The Huskers had beaten the Royals earlier in the season, but H-BR shot the ball better (25-of-49, 51-percent) then in the prior contest.

Don Austin topped H-BR with a game-high 29 points, Mike Serrurier added 11. Wayne Decker and Jim Pfau each scored 13 points to pace Serena.

Newark jumped out to a 10-6 first quarter lead. Shabbona's Rodney Fultz scored a pair of hoops to tied the game before the Norsemen went on a 6-0 run to end the first half and led 18-12.

In the third period NHS out-scored the Indians 9-5 to take a 27-17 advantage into the final quarter. Fultz netted 15 of Shabbona's 17 fourth period points, but Newark scored 16 to take home their second consecutive championship.

Doug Knudson led Newark with 15 points, Dave Thompson added 14. Fultz ended with a game-high 21 points.

Newark held Shabbona to just 22-percent (13-of-59) shooting for the game.

Championship Game Box Score

SHABBONA (34) – Schou 2-0-4, Espe 2-1-5, Fultz 7-7-21, Oleson 1-0-2, Miller 1-0-2. Totals 13- (8-13) – 34.

NEWARK (43) – Knudson 7-1-15, Brown 3-0-6, Thompson 7-0-14, Anderson 2-0-4, Akre 2-0-4. Totals 21- (1-7) – 43.

Shabbona    6   6   5  17 – 34

Newark      10   8   9  16 – 43

Total fouls – Shabbona 7, Newark 9. Fouled out – none.