Hilltopper boys’ basketball finish 1-2 after week of ball

By Kelsie Hoitomt

GLENWOOD CITY —  The Glenwood City boys’ basketball team hosted a trio of games last week with the Spooner Rails last Tuesday, February 5, the Colfax Vikings on Thursday and St. Croix Central Friday.

Rails win 50-44

It was a good match up Tuesday night against the 3-7 Heart O’ North Conference Rails. The Toppers took a strong lead in the first quarter with the score at 17-8 after Tyler Nueske drained two treys and Richard Ross had one.

The Rails quickly caught up in the second quarter however as they scored 13 points to knot the game at 21-21 at half time with the Toppers only sinking two baskets.

Despite turnovers and missed passes, the Toppers still managed a lead in the third quarter with the score at 34-30, but too many steals from the Rails changed the game in the final eight minutes.

The Rails played their best ball in the fourth quarter with 20 points scored, seven of which were from the charity stripe. The Toppers trailed off with ten points to end the game.

As a team, the Toppers were one for four at free throws and they allowed the Rails 18 attempts at the foul line with 14 of those being successful.

Nueske led the team in points with 14 from two treys and four deuces. Also scoring were Ross with 11 points, Tyler Johnson with six, Nick Mrdutt and Matt Schouten each had four points, Marcus Kadinger and Todd Petersen each had two points and Jake Hierlmeier had a free throw.

0-2 against the Vikings

The Toppers are now 0-2 against the Colfax Vikings after they took one on the chin in a 50-31 upset.

The Toppers had a lackluster performance in the first half of the game, only scoring eight points, none of which were in the second quarter. Hierlmeier had five of the eight points from a triple and two free throws and Ross had a trey as well.

The Vikings ran the court with 16 points scored in the first quarter alone and a additional 12 in the second for a 28-8 score at halftime. The Vikings continued to control the ball in the third quarter as they allowed the Toppers to score just three baskets for a 44-14 score going into the fourth.

The Toppers were finally able to knock down some shots in the fourth quarter with 17 points scored on baskets from Mrdutt, Tyler Johnson, Hierlmeier, Ross and Kadinger.

Hierlmeier was the points leader with 12, Ross had seven, Mrdutt had five, Johnson had four and Kadinger had three.

Win over Panthers

The Toppers finished the week with a 58-29 victory against the St.Croix Central Panthers on Friday, February 8.

It was a solid three quarters of ball playing for the Hilltoppers with 15 points posted in the first quarter and then 16 points in both the second and third.

By the second quarter the Toppers had doubled their lead with the score at 31-14 going into the half. The Toppers finished with 11 points scored in the fourth, six of which were free throws.

Ross had the Toppers’ only three point shots of the night otherwise they dominated as a team under the net. 18 of the 58 points scored were from free throws as well with the team shooting just over 70 percent.

The Toppers played a controlled defense with minimal errors considering they allowed the Panthers just four attempts at the line with three of those counting.

Hierlmeier was the points leader with 14 from four deuces and six free throws. Ross had 12 points, Schouten and Petersen each had seven, Mrdutt and Kadinger each had six, Nueske had four and Tyler Johnson had two.

The Hilltoppers played Tuesday night in Boyceville and will wrap up their regular season on Friday, February 15 in Elmwood. Their first Regional game will be on Tuesday, February 19 at McDonell Central starting at 7:00 p.m.