Glenwood City boys continue to look for first win after loss to Plum City/Elmwood
by Laura Giammattei
GLENWOOD CITY — Three games into the season, the Glenwood City boys’ basketball team has yet to pull out a win despite major defensive improvement.
The Hilltoppers fell short of their first win at home against the Elmwood/Plum City Wolves in a 46-32 defeat on Thursday, December 10th.
Plum City/Elmwood sophomore Luke Baier led the Wolves to victory with a total of 16 points, nearly doubling teammates senior Hunter Schoengarth’s seven points and junior Sam Hoy’s six points, respectively. Baier sank three field goals in both the first and second halves and shot four of nine at the free throw line, three of which were scored in the second half.
Despite its loss, Glenwood City showed vast improvement on the defensive end, holding the Wolves to just 46 points overall. Up to that point, Elmwood/Plum City had been averaging 62 points a game. Sophomore Riley Schutz and senior Nathan Mrdutt dominated under the basket, accumulating 19 rebounds between the two, while senior Nick Schone racked up four steals.
While the Toppers held their own offensively in the first half, only trailing by five points, the Wolves pulled ahead in the second half scoring 24 points to the Toppers’ 15. Plum City/Elmwood held at least a 10 point lead on the Toppers the majority of the second half of regulation.
Glenwood City senior Joel Ormson led the Toppers on offense, scoring three field goals and shooting 50 percent from the free throw line in the first half. He added another three field goals in the second half, scoring 11 of the Toppers’ 32 points. Nick Schone and Riley Schutz both scored two field goals in the first quarter while freshman Dillon Hierlmeier contributed a field goal and a 3-pointer in the second half as well.
The Toppers aim to improve their shooting as Glenwood City hit just one three point shot compared to Plum City/Elmwood’s five. The Wolves also attempted a generous 30 free throws, capitalizing on half of them, while the Toppers shot just six free throws, only one of which connected.
The Toppers’ head coach, Tristan Kittilson remarked on Thursday’s game stating: “It was a tough one tonight; we didn’t score many points, we’ve got to be able to get those baskets. Overall I thought our defense was much better and we improved a lot in that area. It’s only the third game of the season and there’s a long way to go.”
The Hilltoppers will attempt to take out two birds with one stone in back-to-back away games against the Spring Valley Cardinals on December 18th and the Prescott Cardinals on December 22nd.