Bulldogs deflated by Lancers, trampled by Buffaloes
Luke Knudtson scores 1000th point
By Cara L. Dempski
The Boyceville boys had been a basketball team on the rise with two, both conference victories, of its five season wins coming in the previous two weeks. And the Bulldogs nearly garnered a third D-SC triumph when it pushed second-place Elk Mound into overtime before losing by a point.
But then came last week!
That’s when Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran lanced Boyceville’s bubble before being stampeded by Mondovi.
The Bulldogs seemed well on the way to a win until there were just four minutes left in the February 5 home non-conference contest against Eau Claire Immanuel. Then, the Lancers found a way to pick up a 60-55 win over the home squad putting a damper on the celebration of Luke Knudtson’s 1000th career point.
The team returned to Dunn-St. Croix competition on Thursday, February 8 in Mondovi. The box score indicated it was a hard night for the Dogs, who fell to the Buffaloes 72-44.
A second consecutive loss dropped Boyceville’s conference mark to 2-9 and 5-13 overall with just four games left in the regular season.
The Dogs hosted Glenwood City, who they beat back on January 23 for its first conference victory, last evening, February 12, and then head to Durand on Friday, February 16 to face the Panthers, who have already clinched a share of this year’s boys’ conference crown. Boyceville will then trek north to Luck next Monday, February 19, before closing the regular and conference seasons at home against Spring Valley on Thursday, February 22.
Tournament seeding meetings are scheduled for February 17, when head coach Ben Luer will learn who the Bulldogs will face to open WIAA regional play on Tuesday, February 27.
Eau Claire Immanuel
At the end of the game, all Luer could really do was shake his head.
The Bulldogs led for all but the final four minutes of their February 5 home matchup versus Eau Claire Immanuel, but then a series of calls, made to the loud disapproval of the Boyceville crowd, led to a 60-55 loss for the home squad.
While the loss somewhat dampened the team’s spirits, the Boyceville boys could not help but maintain a celebratory air as senior Luke Knudtson picked up his 1,000th career point midway through the second half.
He eventually finished the game with 31 points.
Boyceville senior Bryce Boda added another 13 points, Cooper Boesl was good for eight, and Knudtson’s younger brother Logan added the final three.
The Lancers’ leading player was Henry Lau, who reeled in 28 points in the game.
EAU CLAIRE IMMANUEL 60, BOYCEVILLE 55
Eau Claire Immanuel………..24 36 — 60
Boyceville……………….………30 25 — 55
TEAM STATISTICS (FG-FT-F-T)
Eau Claire Immanuel (19-17-11-60) — J. Bailey 0-0-2-0, J. Rutz 4-2-2-11, S. Miller 2-1-0-5, H. Lau 8-10-2-28, B. Oster 0-0-1-0, A. Karow 2-1-1-4, R. Zimmerman 1-0-0-3, J. Gerbitz 2-3-3-8.
Boyceville (24-6-20-55) — B. Boda 6-1-3-13, C. Boesl 2-4-2-8, Lo. Knudtson 1-0-5-3, J. Gonzales 0-0-4-0, B. Larson 0-0-2-0, Lu. Knudtson 15-1-4-31.
THREE-POINTERS
ECI — J. Rutz 1, H. Lau 2, R. Zimmerman 1, J. Gerbitz 1; B — Lo. Knudtson 1.
Mondovi
Sometimes teams have off nights, sometimes teams’ skills are not an even match with opponents, and sometimes the fates decide who is going to win a game, and who is going to lose.
No one can really be sure what the case was for the Bulldogs at Mondovi last Thursday, but the team had a rough night, losing the February 8 contest to the Buffaloes 72-44.
Boyceville put up just 14 points to Mondovi’s 38 in the opening half, and stuck closer to the Buffaloes in the second half. Still, the effort was not enough to close the circle for a win.
Luke Knudtson came away from the game with 13 points to his credit, Boda scored nine, Logan Knudtson put up six, Cooper Boesl and Jayson Gonzales tied with four apiece, Bryce Larson and Brendan Sempf logged three points each, and Jaden Reisimer added the final two.
The game’s highest-scoring player was Mondovi’s Avery Hoepner with 24 points.
BOYCEVILLE 44, MONDOVI 72
Boyceville…………………………14 30 — 44
Mondovi…………………………..38 34 — 72
TEAM SCORES
Boyceville — B. Boda 9, J. Reisimer 2, C. Boesl 4, B. Sempf 3, Lo. Knudtson 6, J. Gonzales 4, B. Larson 3, Lu. Knudtson 13.
Mondovi — B. Christopherson 11, C. Johnson 2, A. Hoepner 24, R. Fath 8, K. Fuentes 7, L. Uschan 4, G. Gifford 2, B. Larson 14.