Toppers knock off top team in conference with 69-56 final

By Kelsie Hoitomt

The Glenwood City boys basketball team defeated the Plum City/Elmwood Wolves at home last Tuesday night. They were then on the road Friday for a contest against St. Croix Central, which ended in a win of 54-51.

Knocking off the top team

Tuesday night’s game was a huge victory for the Toppers as they upset the number one team in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference with a 69-56 final score.

The Wolves were sitting at a 6-2 record going into the contest, which was tied with Mondovi and then Colfax sat at third with a 7-3 record.

The Toppers had previously lost to the Wolves 61-52 back in December and this time around they were not going down without a fight.

The Toppers came out swinging from the get go with five three pointers drained along with two doubles and three free throws for an outstanding 22 points in the first quarter.

Kip Wallace was hot from outside with three triples knocked in of his own. Todd Petersen drained one as well as a double and three free throws and then Marcus Kadinger had the other triple.

Bill Norenberg rounding out the 22 points with a double of his own, which put the score at 22-14 going into the second quarter.

The Wolves stepped up their game in the second quarter however and tied the ball game at 25s after the Toppers had some blown coverage, which left the hoop open for the Wolves to score on.

The Wolves outscored the Toppers 15-11, which put the score at 33-29 going into the half with GC up by only four points.

The third quarter was a wash with both teams posting 16 points, which kept that four point deficit alive.

Nick Schone opened the second half with a three pointer for the Topper team. The Toppers made some really good plays in the quarter with a lot of action on the court, but the Wolves were following them in stride.

Perseverance led the Toppers to victory as they stuck to their game and finished the final eight minutes just as they had played in the third.

They posted 20 points to the Wolves’ 11 with 15 of those points made by free throws. The Toppers held possession of the ball nicely, which forced the Wolves to foul and in turn that led to their defeat.

Petersen played a strong game under the net despite the four personal fouls against him. He drove in one double, hit a three from the side and then made four free throws to lead the team in the fourth.

Kadinger also made four free throws and so did Jake Hierlmeier and Schone went three for four.

As a team, the Toppers hit eight doubles, nine triples and finished with 26 out of 33 free throws made.

The Wolves had just 13 free throw attempts with ten making it through the hoop and they posted 17 doubles and four triples.

Petersen led the game in points with 19 from his seven free throws, three doubles and two triples. Hierlmeier followed with seven free throws also, two triples and one double.

Kadinger had 13 points from his three doubles, one triple and four free throws. Wallace finished with 12 points from his three triples and three free throws. Schone had one triple and three free throws for six. And Norenberg and Ormson each had two points.

Redemption in SCC

Friday night was yet another big night for the Topper team. They had a superb week of ball with a victory over the St. Croix Central Panthers, which was quite the accomplishment after they lost to them 64-48 in December.

The two wins put the Topper’s record at 4-6 in the D-SC as of Monday, which has them sitting in sixth out of the eight school districts.

The Panthers carried a lead throughout the entire first half against the Toppers with the score at 15-11 in the first and then 25-20 by the break.

It took just one quarter to change the outcome of the game and that was in the third when the Toppers put up 16 points against the Panther’s six for a score of 36-31.

That ten point scoring difference was the game changer and from that point on the Toppers stuck to their guns in the final minutes for the win.

The fourth quarter actually ended with the Toppers down by a two point difference with 18 points scored to the Panthers’ 20.

Petersen was a key factor for the team with a huge game under the net for his Toppers. He had seven doubles and six free throws out of ten made.

Kadinger followed with 12 points, Wallace had ten, Schone had eight and Hierlmeier finished with four.

The Toppers started this week off with a game at home on Monday against Spring Valley. Then on Thursday (Feb. 12) they will be on the road to Boyceville.

The Toppers will wrap up their conference play with a game at home Tuesday, February 17 against Colfax and then Friday, February 20 will be in Elk Mound.