EM boys lose two of three to start new year
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The Elk Mound boys’ basketball team started the new year off with a bang when it traveled to Chetek Monday, January 3 and delivered an 84-52 knockout to the Chetek-Weyerhaeuser Bulldogs.
Unfortunately, any winning momentum from that win did not seem to carry over into the Mounders other two games last week – a road conference game in Durand and a home non-conference tilt with state-ranked Prescott.
Playing shorthanded in both those contests, Elk Mound lost 53-46 in a Friday, January 7 D-SC showdown to the Panthers and then the following afternoon saw its upset bid to beat the Cardinals come up just two points short – 70 to 68.
Elk Mound, now 2-2 and 7-5 overall, hosts Boyceville this Thursday, January 13 and will head to rival Colfax next Tuesday, January 18.
Chetek-Weyerhaeuser
While the weather outside was bone-chilling cold, Elk Mound’s offense, particularly in the first half, was red hot when the Mounders played at Chetek-Weyerhaeuser last Monday, January 3.
In the first half alone, the Mounders sank a dozen three-point shots as they bolted to a commanding 57-26 lead over the host Bulldogs. They then tacked on another 27 points in the final half to win 84 to 52 as three Mounders scored in the double digits.
Sophomore Kaden Russo led Elk Mound with 23 points which included 14 in the first half. He finished with a trio of treys, five two-point hoops and was a perfect 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Ryan Bartig, who netted 14 points in the first half with three triples, a hoop and two free throws, then added four hoops in the latter half to finish with 21 points. Cale Knutson tallied all 18 of his points in the first half off six baskets from behind the arc.
Elk Mound was eight-for-nine at the foul stripe while Chetek-Weyerhaeuser made just one of its two foul shots.
The Bulldogs’ Lawson Davis led all scorers with 25 points – 11 in the first half and 14 in the second.
Durand
Despite missing a starter and then losing one of its key shooters off the bench, Elk Mound gave first-place Durand a run for its money when it visited the Panthers last Friday, January 7th.
“We were already down one starter,” said Mounder head coach Michael Kessler. “Then we lost Cale Knutson, one of our shooters that comes off the bench, in the first half.”
“The six remaining guys battled from start to finish and gave us a chance,” he added.
Elk Mound hung in with Durand throughout the first half thanks to Knutson, who hit a pair of three-pointers before exiting the game, along with a pair of triples from Brex Todd and another by Ethan Johnson that had the Mounders trailing by just four points, 28-24, at the intermission.
Three more triples, one each from Johnson, Ryan Bartig and Sam Wenzel, helped to keep Elk Mound within striking range in the second half.
Durand enjoyed a 25-22 second-half scoring advantage as it held on for the 53-46 win.
Kaden Russo finished with three hoops and three free throws to lead the Mounders with nine points. Brex Todd and Sam Wenzel each tallied eight points. Ryan Bartig scored all seven of his points in the second half.
Zach Nelson led Durand with 18 points while teammate Ethan Hurlburt added 11.
Prescott
Elk Mound, without two of its eight rotation players and just 16 hours following a hard fought conference road loss, stepped on to its home court last Saturday, January 8 to face Prescott, ranked tenth in the latest Division 3 state coaches poll.
Despite the adversity, the Mounder boys acquitted themselves well falling just a few points short of pulling off the upset as the visiting Cardinals survived a scare and left with the 70 to 68 win.
“I can’t even say how proud I am of this team,” stated Kessler following the heartbreaking defeat. “Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how I fell about this group. Certainly, our team needs to find ways to win close games against quality teams, but the steps this young team is taking are all moving in the right direction.”
Sam Wenzel (four hoops) and Kaden Russo (two threes) each put in eight points in the opening half and Brex Todd added six points but the Mounders trailed 35-29.
Elk Mound then redoubled its offensive effort in the final half and put up 39 points as Aiden Bartholomew hit three times from behind the three-point arc and Ryan Bartig twice. Wenzel added to his first half tally with six more baskets and a pair of free throws to finish with 22 points to lead the Mounders.
But, it wasn’t quite enough to overcome Prescott who scored 35 in the second half and was led by Dallas Wallin’s 27-point performance with Jordan Malmlov chipping in for 18.
Russo and Bartholomew both finished with a dozen points for the Mounder, Brex Todd had 11 and Bartig ten.
Elk Mound collected seven threes to Prescott’s eight.
The Mounders were 6-for-10 at the foul stripe with Prescott hitting 13 of its 15 attempts.