Hilltopper boys’ basketball bows out with first round loss
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By Missy Klatt
Sports Correspondent
GRANTSBURG — The Glenwood City boys’ basketball team finished out their season with a lopsided 89-47 loss to the Grantsburg Pirates (14-10) on Tuesday, March 3 in the opening round of the WIAA Division 4 regional tournament.
The Toppers, who were seeded 12th in the upper half bracket of the Eau Claire Memorial sectional, had to make the long drive to Grantsburg, who were seeded fifth. In round two, the Pirates fell to Cumberland who in turn lost to Unity in last Saturday’s regional final.
Glenwood City finished the season without a win, going 0-22.
According to head coach Tristan Kittilson, the Toppers had a nice start to the game and battled well early on. With six minutes to go in the first half, the Hilltoppers were only down by two points, 19-21.
However, things started to fall apart from there. Turnovers – which have plagued the team all season – along with fouls started to add up and the Pirates were able to pull ahead. By the end of the first half the Pirates had a 20-point, 48-28, lead.
Kittilson remarked that the Pirates had a very high percentage converting their free throws. Indeed they did, as the Pirates were 30-for-36 from the charity stripe for the entire game which equates to 83 percent.
Kittilson liked the way his boys started the second half with toughness and competitiveness. However he conceded, “In the end, Grantsburg was the better team and made more plays than us.”
He continued, “Their size proved hard for us to contain in the paint and keep off the glass rebounding.”
The Pirates outscored the Hilltoppers 41-19 in the second half for 89-47 victory.
Juniors Gavin Janson and Brandyn Hallquist led the team in scoring with nine and eight points, respectively. Freshman Max Janson came off the bench in the second half and scored six points. Drew Olson and Cole Logghe also chipped in six points each.
For the season as a whole, Kittilson had this to say: “Obviously not the season we had envisioned in terms of wins and losses, but we have a lot of potential and showed great flashes throughout the season. We are looking to use this adversity as a great lesson and motivator moving into the off season; to have the best possible season and set of teams we can next year!”
Glenwood City (47)
FG-FT-F-T: Hallquist 4-0-4-8, McCarthy 0-0-3-0, G. Janson 3-0-3-9, Olson 2-2-3-6, Wickman 2-0-3-4, M. Janson 2-2-1-6, Logghe 1-0-2-6, Eggert 0-0-0-0, Grant 0-0-4-0, Hanson 2-0-3-4, Swenby 2-1-1-3, Loring 0-0-0-0, Moe 1-2-0-4, Klatt 0-0-3-0. Total 19-7-22-47.
Grantsburg (89)
FG-FT-F-T: McKinley 1-0-2-3, Knutson 8-12-3-30, Linday 0-0-0-0, Lee 4-2-3-10, Bergman 8-6-1-22, Wedin 2-1-1-6, Phillips 0-1-0-1, Miller 2-6-2-10, VanWatermeulens 2-2-2-6. Total 27-30-13-89.
Glenwood City 28 19 – 47
Grantsburg 48 41 – 89
3-point goals: Glenwood City: G. Janson 3, Logghe. Grantsburg: McKinley, Knutson 2, Wedin.