Slow first half dooms Bulldog boys in opener against Panthers
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PRAIRIE FARM — A hot-handed Elec Klefstad helped lead the Prairie Farm Panthers’ first-half offensive explosion against the Boyceville Bulldogs in last Thursday’s season opener for both squads.
Klefstad nailed three of the host Panthers’ five, first-half three-point shots and tallied 18 points the opening 18 minutes of play to give Prairie Farm a commanding 37-12 lead over visiting Boyceville at the intermission. Klestad finished with a game-high five triples and 29 points as Prairie Farm pummeled Boyceville 66-37 in the non-conference tilt.
“We really struggled out of the gate to find our groove offensively as we found ourselves in a 18-0 hole to start the game before scoring our first basket,” said Boyceville head coach Colby Dotseth. “Throughout the game we struggled with turnovers and we didn’t have the team chemistry or energy we would like to see.”
After scoring just a dozen points in the first half, the Bulldogs were able to more than double their offensive output in the final half scoring 25 points but were still edged by the Panthers who netted 29.
Senior Walker Retz and freshman Caden Wold were the only Bulldogs to score points in the first half of play with Retz netting seven points off a pair of doubles and a triple while Wold sank a trey and a two pointer.
“We knew going in to the season we had a lot of scoring to replace and we didn’t have a true identity offensively,” added Dotseth. “That really showed as we looked really uncomfortable offensively. But we were not happy with our defensive performance and our effort on the defensive end. We expect more from ourselves.”
After halftime, Connor Sempf tried to rally Boyceville. The senior scored all 16 of his team-leading points in the final half but it would not be enough as the Bulldogs fell by 29 points.
Prairie Farm’s sizzling start proved too much for Boyceville to overcome. Besides Elec Klefstad’s 18-point performance, the Panthers sank 10 of their 13 first-half free throws and finished 13-for-16. The host’s Caleb Briel added four baskets in the final stanza as he finished with 14 while Tyler Kahl, who netted ten points, tallied a pair of treys in the second half to bring the Panthers total to eight long ball in all.
“I give Prairie Farm credit, they came to compete and really shot the ball well even when we did have hands in there faces on jumpers,” stated Dotseth. “We just need to mesh better as a unit as we had 4 kids who had never seen the varsity floor from the younger grades and it showed at times.”
After not shooting a single free throw in the first half, Boyceville sank nine of 13 attempts in the second half. Sempf was a perfect five-for-five with five baskets including a three. Jack Phillips also canned a second-half trey for Boyceville who finished with four in the game.
Behind Sempf’s 16 points, Retz finished with nine and Wold seven to lead the Bulldogs.
“As poorly as we played there were definitely some positive things that came out of the game,” Dotseth noted. “Connor Sempf was aggressive going to the hole all night, now we just need to work on finishing at the rim with that aggressive play. Jack Phillips seen his first ever varsity action and really hustled and played well on the defensive end. Walker Retz made the most of his offensive opportunities and hopefully he continues to stay aggressive on the offensive end.”
Boyceville looked to regroup last evening – Tuesday, December 8 – when it hosted rival Glenwood City to open conference play. The Bulldogs will then hit the road Thursday, December 10 for another Dunn-St. Croix contest in Mondovi followed by a non-conference home game with Independence next Monday, December 14.
“We will look to rebound and be competitive this next week as we play Glenwood City and Mondovi,” concluded Dotseth.