BELOIT—Beloit Turner seniors Tyshawn Teague-Johnson and Zay Howard headlined the Rock Valley Rock Division co-champion boys basketball team by touting a multitude of ways to score while locking down opposing offenses in the backcourt.
The RVC Rock recognized the stellar play by naming the Trojans’ duo as Co-Players of the Year and placing them on the All-Conference First Team.
Howard was also awarded Defensive Player of the Year after he was routinely matched up against the opposition’s top scorer and limited their scoring output on a Turner squad that only allowed around 57 points per game.
Locking down some of the conference’s top scorers like Big Foot’s Hudson Torrez, who he limited to 13 points in their only meeting, and Clinton’s Reagan Flickinger, 16 and 10 in their matchups, helped spur the Trojans to a 13-2 RVC Rock record.
The 5-foot-11 point guard averaged 17 points per game, good for fifth in the conference, on a 48.1 shooting percentage. While he mostly got his baskets on athletic driving layups, Howard also went 32-for-105 (30.5%) on 3-pointers and 64-for-111 (57.7%) on free throws.
Howard averaged 4.7 rebounds per game and snatched 63 steals. He finished his senior season with 211 assists, averaging a conference-best 7.8 per game, smashing his own program record of 164 that he broke his junior year. He finishes with 470 career assists, a Turner record, and also holds the mark for most assists in a game when he dished out 15 against Edgerton February of 2023. He had 14 against Lake Mills this season on Feb. 7 to tie the second-place mark with Tim Blum.
Teague-Johnson was fourth in the RVC Rock with 19.8 points per game this season. The 6-5 wing was dominant around the rim whether it came to putting in buckets or snatching rebounds. He paced the conference in boards with 11 per game while shooting 58.4% from the field and going 24-for-76 on 3-pointers. Defensively, he contributed 66 steals and 30 blocks.
The senior also had four 30+ point games including a 37-point showing against Belleville.
Also earning a spot on the First Team were Edgerton senior Leyton McKillips, Edgerton junior Olin Zellmer and Big Foot senior Hudson Torrez.
Torrez, who will play soccer at Division I Marquette University in the fall, missed the final four games of the regular season and the regional opener against Lomira due to an injury. The Chiefs were 0-5 without their leading scorer.
The 6-foot guard was second in the conference with 20.6 points per game, and he eclipsed 1,000 career points in a home game against Turner in December. He made 34 3-pointers and grabbed 4.7 rebounds per game while leading the team with 89 assists and adding 49 steals.
Turner head coach Ken Watkins was named the conference’s Coach of the Year after helping his squad overcome a 1-3 start to finish 20-7 and make it to a WIAA Division 3 regional final.
The RVC Rock All-Conference Second Team consists of Clinton’s Reagan Flickinger, Brodhead’s Cullen Walker and Jaxon Dooley along with Edgerton’s Jack Fox and Preston Scahffner.
Flickinger, a 6-4 junior guard, ended the season in a tie for 26th in Wisconsin for points per game with an average of 24.7. He became the fifth player in program history to eclipse 1,000 points when he scored 18 against Delavan-Darien in January. He had six games where he scored 30 or more points, his last being when he scored 48 points against Evansville.
Flickinger, who shot 44.1% from the field, was also fourth in the conference with 6.8 rebounds per game. He added 67 total assists and recorded 65 steals and 11 blocks.
Walker placed third in the RVC Rock by pouring on 20 points per game. Like Flickinger and Torrez, he soared past the 1,000-point mark this past season and put up 40 points to help the Cardinals beat Wisconsin Heights in the regional opener. He shot 46.6% from the field and went 60-for-162 on treys.
The 6-1 guard averaged 6.5 rebounds each game, putting him fifth in the conference, and he added 89 total assists and 28 steals.
Honorable mention recipients included: Big Foot senior Patrick Corey, Big Foot junior Jack Nelson, Brodhead junior Gabe Bockhop, Brodhead junior Brody Riese, Clinton freshman Mason Floberg, Clinton junior Isaac Krummel, Edgerton junior Bryce Appel, Turner sophomore A.J. Dotson and Turner senior Elijah Terrell.
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