Beloit Memorial Explodes for a 50-point second half and defeats Hononegah 88-79 Monday night at the Fieldhouse.
The basketball was finally tossed into the air at 7:12 pm on Monday night, January 26th, 2026. Beloit Memorial brought an enthusiastic, loud cheering section, but the Hononegah student section was not to be outdone. They were dressed in their best for Monday night.
Indians win the opening tap and can’t get a bucket after some back-and-forth action, the Purple Knights of Beloit Memorial grabbed a quick 9-3 lead. Senior Dante Bell hit a corner 3 to make the score 9-6. Both teams traded body blows in the opening quarter, and it ended with Hononegah down just a single point, 24-23.
The second quarter was the best for the Indians in basketball on Monday night. They scored 21 points as a team behind the backcourt senior duo of Caleb Hart and Oba Fasalojo, who combined for 17 of the 21 points scored in the quarter by Hononegah. They held Beloit Memorial to just 14 points, and we saw the halftime score: Hononegah 44, Beloit Memorial 38.
In the third quarter, senior all-state and possible Wisconsin State Player of the Year Amare Hereford of Beloit Memorial showed why he is so highly thought of. He scored 17 points in the quarter, going 11 of 11 from the free throw line and hitting three 2-point buckets to pace the Purple Knights, who exploded for 35 third-quarter points and had a 73-60 lead heading to the last 8 minutes of the game.
Hononegah had to play uphill the entire fourth quarter, and it was a battle as they tried everything they could to disrupt and rattle the Purple Knights. This Beloit Memorial team wouldn’t allow that to happen. They went 5 of 6 from the free throw line and sank 5 timely buckets that kept the Indians at arm's length away. Hononegah was able to close it within a couple of buckets a few times, but they needed more than the 19 points they scored to overcome a very talented Beloit Memorial Purple Knights team. Final Score 88-79.
Even in the loss, Hononegah Indians Head Coach Tom Schmidt stated that he reinforced a message to the team, “We talked about doing the little things for a full 32 minutes, not just in spurts. That’s something that we have been focusing on for a while now. When we play teams like Beloit Memorial and teams in our conference, we need to play on both ends of the floor.”
Next up, for Hononegah is Wednesday January 28th at the fieldhouse against Rockford East 7 pm tipoff in the NIC 10 battle.
Beloit Memorial Scoring
Amare Hereford 36, Brock Hodges 22, TreviaunJordon 12, James Ford 8, JJ Martin 5, Tayvon Cates 2, Vinny Phiffer 2, Zander Phiffer 1. (29 - 2 pointers, 4 - 3 pointers, 18-22 free throws)
88 total points
Hononegah Scoring
Oba Fasalojo 28, Caleb Hart 20, Wyatt Henson 11, Dante Bell 9, Damariea Briggs 8, Jameson Gilbertson 3. (18 - 2 pointers, 10 - 3 pointers, 13-18 free throws) 79 total points
