Hilltopper boys wrap up regular season with games against Colfax and Elk Mound

By Kelsie Hoitomt

The Glenwood City boys basketball team upset the Colfax Vikings last Tuesday night in a 56-46 victory that moved the Toppers into fourth in the D-SC.

The Toppers did have to travel to Elk Mound on Friday however to play against the Mounders. That was a crucial conference contest as a win put the Mounders at a tie of 7-6, but a loss advanced the Toppers to 8-6.

The Toppers ended up losing a heart breaker in overtime with the score at 58-53, which settled the Toppers into fifth in the D-SC with a 7-7 record.

Friday night’s game was the Toppers’ final regular season contest. The Mounders play against Mondovi next Thursday, which will settle out the conference standings.

Vikings fall in GC 

After losing to the Vikings by five points earlier in the season, the Topper boys were out for a battle.

The started out up by five with the work of Jake Hierlmeier who was hot from outside the arc with two treys and then two free throws.

Todd Petersen was the driving force on the inside with three doubles put up and a free throw himself for five of their 18 team points.

Marcus Kadinger collected the remainder of the points with one double and one free throw.

Their lead turned upside down by the time the buzzer rang at the half after they dropped to seven points posted. The Vikings led 26-25 after scoring 13 points of their own.

The score yo-yo’d back and forth in the third until the Toppers caught a break and got a four point edge. They outscored the Vikings 15-11, which put the score at 40-37 as the fourth quarter started.

Hierlmeier had a double and then followed that up with a three, Kip Wallace had a three, Petersen had two doubles and Nick Schone made a double and a free throw to put the Toppers back ahead.

The Toppers ran away with the win after playing calm and collected from the free throw line. Schone was fouled once and made both his shots and Hierlmeier was fouled twice and went four for four.

He also made a trey to start the quarter and Petersen aided in their success with a trey of his own and two jumpers.

The Toppers finished with 16 total points in the final eight minutes and they held the Vikings to nine for their fifth straight conference win.

As a team they had 26 doubles, six triples and they finished with 12 free throws made out of 17. The Vikings on the other hand had only five doubles, nine triples and were nine of 14 from the line.

Hierlmeier and Petersen scored 40 of the team’s 56 points with 20 posted a piece. Hierlmeier had his four treys and one double and he finished six for six on the line. Petersen had eight doubles, one triple and one free throw.

Kadinger followed with seven from his three doubles and one free throw. Schone had his three free throws and one double for five and Wallace made the one trey.

Overtime loss in Elk Mound

Both teams fought tooth and nail from the get go on Friday night with the scores close through every quarter.

The Toppers started behind by one with the 10-9 score after the first quarter. Wallace scored a double and then knocked in a trey and Kadinger and Hierlmeier each had a double.

They took a lead before the half after Wallace drained two more treys and Petersen, Hierlmeier and Kadinger worked their magic under the net with a shot each.

Petersen also was fouled and made both his baskets for 14 total points in the second quarter against the Mounder’s ten for a 23-20 lead.

It was a back and forth battle out of the break, but the Mounders prevailed for the lead going into the fourth quarter.

They posted 12 points to the Topper’s seven for a 32-30 score. Kadinger scored two shots and a free throw and Petersen had one for the Toppers team.

Trailing by two, the Toppers pulled out all the stops in the final minutes of the game. They were near perfection on the court with great precision and drive.

Hierlmeier was active with a shot from under the hoop, then he backed up and dropped in a three before getting fouled and making three free throws.

Petersen was consisted with his under the net play. He drove in three shots and then Kadinger took to the hoop for one, which all added up to 16 points.

They outscored the Mounders by two, which tied the contest at 46-46 when the buzzer rang.

Foul trouble put the Mounders ahead in the overtime play. They had eight free throw attempts with six making it through the hoop.

They were able to get under the net three different times for six points, which added up to 12 against the Toppers’ seven for the win.

Petersen hit a three and a double in the overtime play and Kadinger was fouled once on a shot attempt and made both shots.

The Toppers finished with eight out of 12 free throws made. They had five triples and 15 doubles as well.

The Mounders got the win with ten triples, ten doubles and eight out of 16 free throws made.

On the court, Petersen was the points leader with 17 from his six doubles, two free throws and one triple. Kadinger followed with 13 from his five doubles and three free throws.

Hierlmeier finished with 12 points from three doubles, one triple and three free throws. And Wallace had the three treys and one double for 11.

The Topper team has a break this week and then they will resume on Tuesday, March 3 for the Regional kick-off.

The Toppers received a fourth seed and they will host Boyceville (#5). The winner of that contest will travel to play Eau Claire Regis on Friday (March 6).