Dubuque Wahlert withstood a couple of strong third-quarter surges from Prairie Tuesday night to hold on for a 65-53 victory in a Mississippi Valley Conference boys basketball game at Prairie.

Trailing 40-30 at halftime, the Hawks used good, aggressive defense and managed to cut the lead to three points in a well-played third quarter. However, a balanced attack by Wahlert was more than Prairie (3-14, 2-10) could overcome.

Jacob May and Jonathan Moore both scored 13 points to lead Wahlert (13-5, 9-4). Dubuque’s inside game saw Michael Francis score 11 points and Riley DeSanti contribute 10.

“Wahlert is a good team and it showed tonight. Coach (Tom) English does a nice job and always has a good team,” said Prairie Coach James Moses. “With Mac out sick, I was pleased with what we tried to do and the effort we gave, but we did miss Mac.”

Moses was referring to Matt MacDougall, the Hawks' leading scorer who missed the game due to illness.

Prairie made seven 3-pointers to keep within distance for much of the game. Sophomore Tom Eilers led the Hawks with 14 points, knocking down four 3-point baskets. Jacob Aune added nine points and Matt Jantzen and Brandon Lafferty each had eight.

“Coach said with Mac gone I had to shoot the ball, so when I was open, I shot,” said Eilers. “It pulled their defense out a bit, and gave us a chance to drive more in the second half.”

Prairie hosts Xavier on Friday and Hempstead on Saturday.

WAHLERT (65): Schueller 2 0-0 5, McCarron 3 1-1 7, May 4 4-6 13, Sisler 2 2-4 6, Francis 4 3-6 11, Moore 4 3-4 13, Koenig 0 0-0 0, DeSanti 4 2-2 10, Burke 0 0-2 0. Totals 23 15-25 65.

PRAIRIE (53): Frazier 2 0-0 4, Jantzen 2 2-2 8, Lafferty 3 1-2 8, Boots 2 0-0 4, Eilers 5 0-0 14, Aune 2 5-7 9, Hilgenkamp 0 0-0 0, Kehoe 0 0-0 0, Mougin 2 0-0 4, Schulte 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-11 53.

Halftime – Wahlert 40, Prairie 30.  3-point goals – Wahlert 4 (Moore 2, Schueller 1, May 1), Prairie 7 (Eilers 4, Jantzen 2, Lafferty 1). Fouled out - Eilers.