EPC Wolves take down Mounder boys in DSC opener; rebound with wins over GC, Altoona
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SLAM DUNK — Mounders’ sophomore Kaden Russo (#1) watched as the ball went through the hoop following his slam dunk in a December 9 home game againt Glenwood City. Russo scored 34 points as Elk Mound throttled the Hilltoppers 71-38 for their first conference victory.
—photo by Joel DeWitt
After a pair of convincing non-conference wins to open its season, Elk Mound’s boys basketball team was looking to continue its dominant display of hardwood play when it traveled to Plum City last Tuesday, December 7 for the Dunn-St. Croix Conference opener against the Wolves of Elmwood/Plum City.
A somewhat frigid night of shooting in the tight confines of the Plum City gym led to a 39-52 loss to the host Wolves.
But, two nights later, Elk Mound, behind Kaden Russo’s break-out offensive performance, thrashed visiting Glenwood City 71-38 to earn its first conference victory.
The Mounders then followed that up with a close 58-54 overtime win against Altoona in the Northwest Shootout Classic at UW-Stout Saturday, December 11 to finish 2-1 for the week.
Elk Mound, now 4-1 overall and 1-1 in the D-SC, went to Bloomer Tuesday, December 14 for a non-conference tilt with the Blackhawks before returning to conference play this Friday, December 17 when it goes to Mondovi before breaking for the Christmas holiday.
Elmwood/Plum City
Plum City’s gym has long provided its home team with a distinct advantage as the Mounder boys were reminded December 7th in the conference opener for them and host Elmwood/Plum City.
Elk Mound’s chilly offensive effort in the first-half seemed to set the tone for the entire game as the Wolves took a 20-14 halftime lead.
While the Mounders’ scored 25 points in the final 18 minutes of the contest, Elmwood/Plum City also heated up and added 32 to its halftime score en route to the 52-39 home win.
“Tough one tonight,” said Mounder head coach Michael Kessler. “I would be surprised if we shot 30 percent from the field.”
“It’s really hard to win basketball games when you don’t shoot the ball well. But that’s a credit to E/PC as it frustrated us with tough defense,” he added.
Although the Mounders did hit six, three pointers, it took 26 attempts to accomplish that, they finished just 22-for-88 in total field goal shots for a meager 25 percent and sank just one of five foul shots.
Ryan Bartig was the lone Mounder to reach double digits finishing with ten points including a pair of second-half treys. E/PC held the Mounders’ leading scorer, Kaden Russo, to a mere four points on the evening. Cale Knutson, shot three triples, and Jerome Delikowski added nine and seven points, respectively, for the Mounders.
Meanwhile, Elmwood/Plum City went 25-for-67 on field goals for just over a 37 percent average including five-for-18 from behind the arc. Luke Webb and Dayne Whipple led the Wolves offensive attack with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Webb also hauled in a staggering 20 rebounds as the host Wolves out boarded the Mounders 36 to 30.
Glenwood City
ELK MOUND’S Sam Wenzel put in two of the 11 points he scored against Glenwood City in a December 9 home basketball game.
—photo by Joel DeWitt
Elk Mound dominated last Thursday’s home conference contest with Glenwood City from the opening tip to the final horn.
After being held to just four points two days earlier in Plum City, sophomore Kaden Russo exploded against the Hilltoppers. Russo netted 34 points to account for nearly half of his team’s points thanks to eight, three pointers including seven in the second half to lead the Mounders, who had ten other players get in the scorebook, to a 71-38 beating of Glenwood City December 9.
In all, Elk Mound tallied 11 triples in the contest as it evened its conference record at 1-1. The Mounders also connected on 12 of its 16 charity tosses.
“Obviously, Kaden Russo had a tremendous game offensively, as he shot the ball incredibly well,” stated Kessler.
“I thought our guys did a great job on the defensive end, and I really believe that defensive effort led to a much better offensive night for all of our guys,” he added. “They got their hands on a lot of passes, forced difficult shots, and rebounded the ball well. I really liked the tempo we played with from start to finish.”
Elk Mound vaulted to a 37-15 halftime advantage and then added another 34 points in the second half.
Sam Wenzel finished with 11 points and five rebounds, a mark he shared with Russo. Jerome Delikowski tallied a half dozen points and Aiden Bartholomew finished with five. Ryan Bartig had a team-high seven assists.
Altoona
With much of the previous evening’s foot of snow having been cleared from roadways, neither Elk Mound nor Altoona had to worry about their travel plans as they made the short trek to the UW-Stout Fieldhouse in Menomonie for a late-evening showdown in the Northwest Shootout Classic last Saturday, December 11.
The game proved to be a dandy as both squads battled to a 50-50 deadlocked following regulation.
Kaden Russo, who poured in 34 points in a blowout win over Glenwood City two days earlier, and Cale Knutson each canned a three-point shot and Jerome Delikowski added pair of bonus free throws as Elk Mound outscored Altoona eight to four in the extra frame to earn the 58-54 victory.
“Really proud of the way our guys battled tonight,” Kessler said. “It would have been very easy for them to get down after giving up the lead late in regulation, but the guys responded incredibly well in OT and took that challenge head on.”
Russo once again led the way in scoring with 21 points including four of the Mounders ten triples, Knutson tallied 11 with nine of those points coming from behind the arc. Aiden Bartholomew sank a pair of treys to finish with eight, Brex Todd had the final three to finish with seven points, Sam Wenzel tallied six, and Jerome Delikowski sank five-of-six free throws.
Elk Mound trailed 25-23 at intermission but rallied to force overtime after surrendering the lead late in the second half.
Altoona’s Evan Peterson led all scoreers with 26 points including 15 in the second half and overtime.