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Bulldog boys fall to Mounders, edged out by Wolves

By Cara L. Dempski

It was not an easy start to the week for the Boyceville boys’ basketball team last week, but they did not lose their ability to keep fighting when the odds were against them.

The Bulldogs opened their week December 12 in Elk Mound, where they managed to keep up with the home team until approximately halfway through the opening half. Then the Mounders blew open a 28-point lead, and the Dogs could not get any closer than 21 points before the final horn sounded to drop the contest 79-58 and fall to 0-2 in the Dunn-St. Croix.

Coach Ben Luer and his pack of Bulldogs took on Plum City/Elmwood Wolves in Plum City last Friday, December 15. The visiting Boyceville squad, which found itself down by eight points at the half, outscored the Wolves 40-36 in the second half, but could not get the win, falling 56-52.

The Bulldogs are currently 1-4 overall and were 0-3 in the D-SC with a pair of non-conference home contests slated for this week. Boyceville took on Turtle Lake at home last night (December 19) will wrap up its pre-holiday schedule hosting Somerset Thursday, December 21. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play in a tournament December 28 at Clayton, and will open the new year with a January 5 home contest against Mondovi.

Elk Mound

Boyceville coach Ben Luer had a simple message for his team at halftime during the December 12 game at Elk Mound.

“I told them ‘I don’t care what the score is, I just want you guys to play hard,’” he said after the buzzer sounded. “They (the Bulldogs) didn’t lose their confidence.”

The game may have been a 79-58 loss for the Boyceville boys, but it was something of a moral win to Luer because it gave him the opportunity to find the Mounders’ weaknesses and figure out how best to exploit them the second time the two teams meet this year.

He also is looking forward to five upcoming games that are not against Elk Mound that, if Boyceville can win, will build plenty of confidence for the second half of the season.

The Bulldogs kept close to the Mounders for the first nine minutes of the game, but then fell away to trail by 28 at the half. They team fought back to within 21 points, but could not seem to pull any closer to the home team.

Senior Luke Knudtson nabbed the matchup’s highest score with 27 points, while fellow seniors Bryce  Boda and Cooper Boesl picked up seven each. Jayson Gonzales recorded five points in the game, Jaden Reisimer logged four, and Brendan Sempf scored two.

Elk Mound’s Ben Lambele was the home team’s highest-scoring player with 26 points.

BOYCEVILLE 58, ELK MOUND 79
Boyceville……………………..20  38 — 58
Elk Mound…………………….48  31 — 79

TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)

Boyceville (24-6-22-58) — B. Boda 2-1-5-7, J. Reisimer 2-0-3-4, C. Boesl 3-1-1-7, B. Sempf 1-0-3-2, Lo. Knudtson 1-0-0-3, J. Gonzales 1-3-4-5, C. Klefstad 0-0-3-0, B. Nye 1-0-0-3, Lu. Knudtson 13-1-3-27.

Elk Mound  (29-13-19-79) — R. Mohr 3-0-2-7, B. Rosenthal 1-0-3-2, B. Redwine 3-2-1-8, D. Curry 2-0-1-6, B. Lambele 9-5-2-26, D. Black 0-1-2-1, L. Bergh 5-1-3-13, C. Ward 0-1-0-1, J. Mentzel 0-0-1-0, N. Schreiber 0-1-1-1, M. Kinblom 2-1-2-5, C. Mavis 4-1-1-9.

THREE-POINTERS
B — B. Boda 2, Lo. Knudtson 1, B. Nye 1; EM — R. Mohr 1, D. Curry 2, B. Lambele 3, L. Berg 2.

Plum City/Elmwood

On paper, it looks like the Boyceville boys held their own at Plum City High School last Friday against the Wolves.

The Bulldogs trailed 20-12 at halftime of the December 15 game, and outscored the Plum City/Elmwood boys by four points in the second half, but could not close the circle to get a win. Boyceville instead took a 56-52 loss, and was the lone Dunn-St. Croix boys’ team without a win heading into this week.

Boyceville can rest knowing it had the game’s two highest-scoring players in Bryce Boda, who picked up 26 points, and Luke Knudtson, who earned 23. Cooper Boesl contributed two points, and Jayson Gonzales sunk a single free throw for one.

The Wolves’ top-scoring player for the night was Jackson Glampe, who picked up 16 points in the game.

BOYCEVILLE 52, ELMWOOD/PLUM CITY 56
Boyceville…………………………12  40 — 52
Elmwood/Plum City……………20  36 — 56

TEAM INDIVIDUAL SCORES

Boyceville — B. Boda 26, C. Boesl 2, J. Gonzales 1, L. Knudtson 23

Elmwood/Plum City — N. Gansluckner 6, N. Forster 5, Z. Phillips 5, J. Glampe 16, T. Maxwell 11, L. Baier 11, J. Brunner 2.