Boyceville boys drop pair to open season

The schedule makers were not kind to the Boyceville boys’ basketball squad this season as it has to play five of its first seven contests including the first two on the road.

And it is never an easy task to garner wins in opposing schools’ gymnasiums especially in the always-competitive Dunn-St. Croix.

The Bulldogs’ kicked-off the 2015-16 hardwood campaign with long road trips to Luck and Durand.

 Boyceville was competitive in its season opener in Luck last Monday, November 30. The Bulldogs hung close with the Cardinals throughout the game but in the final few minutes Luck was able to pull away for a 58 to 49 win.

Unfortunately, the outcome was no different for Boyceville in its conference opener in Durand on Thursday, December 3. The Panthers out-pointed the Bulldogs in both halves of play en route to a 73-50 victory.

Despite the 0-2 start, second-year head coach Ben Luer was optimistic.

“We played two good teams (to start the year),” stated Luer. “We will continue to work on details of the game and try to get better throughout the season.”

No luck in Luck

After battling the Cardinals to a 27-27 tie at the conclusion of the first half of play, Boyceville could not keep pace with the Luck offense as the game clock ran down in the second half.

Luck continued to score in the waning minutes of play while the Bulldogs offense went cold resulting in a nine-point loss for the Bulldogs despite a 21-point effort from 6’ 3” sophomore Luke Knudtson.

With just under five minutes remaining in the game, the Bulldogs were nipping at the Cardinals’ feathers when their offense went stagnant.

Boyceville’s scoring lull in the closing minutes of the game allowed Luck to post the 58-49 win.

“We played good against a good team,” Luer said. “We are still working on chemistry in late game situations.”

Another Boyceville sophomore Bryce Boda led the Bulldogs’ first-half offensive charge with nine points, with a quartet of two-point hoops and a free throw. Luke Knudtson added seven points including a three while Micadin Kahl and Sam Hellmann chipped in for five and four points respectively.

While Boda went without a score in the second half, Knudtson sizzled the net chords for 14 of the Bulldogs 22, second-half points including a pair of three pointers.

Hellmann added five points in the latter half to finish with nine and Kahl tallied three more points to end the game with eight total.

Luck outscored Boyceville 31-22 in the final 18-minutes of the contest.

While Boyceville made 10 of 12 from the charity stripe (83 percent) and 3 of 6 from behind the arc, the Bulldogs finished just 19 for 56 or 34 percent for overall shooting.

Boyceville finished with 27 rebounds. Knudtson and Boda each tallied six while Hunter Anderson and Hellmann finished with five boards each.

Hellmann and Knudtson each had a block as Boda, Kahl and Dante Marlett each registered a steal.

Panthers Pounce

The Durand Panthers (2-1, 1-0) pounced on Boyceville early and often as it outgunned the Bulldogs and took a healthy 42-25 halftime lead.

Durand, who had 11 players score including three in double figures, added to that advantage in the second half as it posted a 73-50 victory, its first conference win as a member of the Dunn-St. Croix.

Logan Polzer had a game-high 12 points to lead the Panthers while William Berger and Ben Weber each chipped in for ten points. Darren Meixner and Reid Hansen both finished with eight points for Durand.

The Bulldogs also had a trio of double-digit scorers as Micadin Kahl led with 11 points followed by ten each from Buddy Hanestad and Bryce Boda.

Boyceville also received scoring contributions from Sam Hellmann, six points; Dante Marlett, five points; Hunter Anderson, four points; and two points each from Kyle Marlett and Luke Knudtson.

Turnovers were part of the Bulldogs’ undoing as they lost the basketball 14 times in the game. Boyceville recorded five steals and an equal number of blocks in the losing effort.

Hunter Anderson, Buddy Hanestad and Luke Knudtson each accounted for five of the Bulldogs’ 25 rebounds.

Boyceville put up 16 three-point shots but connected on just three and finished 17 of 45 overall from the field. The Bulldogs made 10 of their 19 foul shots.

Boyceville, who plays just once this week, will host Spring Valley in its home opener on Thursday evening, December 10. The Bulldogs then head back out on to the road for a non-conference game in Bruce on December 15.