Mounder boys split: rally for win over Ellsworth but come up short against first-place Durand
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ELK MOUND — The Elk Mound boys’ split a pair of home hardwood contests last week.
After falling behind earlier to visiting Ellsworth in a non-conference game last Tuesday, February 8, Elk Mound rallied for a 60-56 victory.
Unfortunately, the Mounders could not follow it with another victory when it hosted the Dunn-St. Croix leading Panthers of Durand on Thursday, February 10. Elk Mound fell behind early once gain and never recovered as Durand went on to post a 54-41 win to remain atop the conference standings with a 10-1 mark.
Elk Mound is currently 5-6 in league play, good for fifth place, and is 11-10 overall with three games left on its regular season slate. The boys played in Boyceville last evening (February 15) and host rival Colfax this Friday, February 18.
Ellsworth
After dropping some close games the past few weeks, the Elk Mound boys’ basketball team finally found a winning formula in a tight affair against Ellsworth.
But the Mounders had to rally from a large, earlier deficit to pull out a four-point, 60-56, win over the Panthers in a non-conference contest played in the Elk Mound gym last Tuesday, February 8.
“It was really nice to be on this side of a close game,” said Elk Mound head coach Michael Kessler.
But Kessler’s charges had a lot of ground to make up early in the contest when they fell behind 26 to 8.
“We were not defending well, not rebounding well, and we were turning over the ball like crazy,” stated Kessler.
Fortunately, the Mounders were able to put together a nice offensive run at the end of the first half as Cale Knutson sank a pair of three pointers with Kaden Russo and Ryan Bartig each adding a long-range bomb of their own to help pull the locals to within 32-20 at the halftime break.
A quick start to the second half saw Elk Mound cut that deficit in half and it slowly kept reeling Ellsworth in.
“It was steady possessions on both ends that allowed us to claw back into it,” added Kessler. “Thought our guys did a nice job of defending in the second half, and really were able to secure more boards and limit them to one shot.”
Russo, who was limited to five point in the first half, exploded following the break. The sophomore scored 24 points in the final 18 minutes including three triples and went 7-for-7 at the free throw line to lead the Mounders to the comeback win with 29 points.
“Really nice to see Kaden Russo come to life with 24 in the second half. He was able to score from multiple levels,” stated Kessler.
Russo also led in rebounds collecting eight of the team’s 28 boards.
Sam Wenzel chipped for seven of his nine points in the second half while Knutson tallied another three and a hoop to finish with 11 points as the Mounder outpointed the Panthers 40 to 24 in the second half to pull out the four-point win.
Kessler also had high praise for the defensive efforts of Ryan Bartig and Brex Todd.
“I thought Ryan Bartig and Brex Todd did a great job of defending their #1 and #2 options offensively, as they really made it difficult for their guys to find clean looks,” noted the Mounders’ coach.
Todd had three steals and Bartig finisned with a pair along with four assists.
“Really proud of our guys,” concluded Kessler. “Would have been easy to pack it in down 26-8.”
Durand
The Panthers defensive pressure disrupted the Mounders offensive flow throughout much of this key Dunn-St. Croix game played in Elk Mound February 10.
Elk Mound fell behind early and never really recovered as the Panthers stayed atop the conference with a 54-41 win.
“Tough one tonight,” said Kessler. “Durand’s pressure defensively really got our guys off rhythm. We were unable to get to spots we need to get to when we cut, screen, and attack. That pressure led to an off night shooting the basketball, as we were unable to consistently knock down shots from the perimeter.”
The Mounders, who play well when they can sink the long-range shots, made just four three-point shots in the game, three of which came in the first half.
Russo had two of those first-half triples with Cale Knutson sinking the other as Elk Mound found itself trailing Durand 31-19 at the break. The Panthers hit all five of their three-point shots in the first half to help build that 12-point advantage.
In the second half, Elk Mound had twice as many free throw attempts as baskets – 12 versus six – making nine of its freebies.
Russo and Jerome Delikowski each had a pair of second-half hoops and Brex Todd sank the team’s final trey but its was not enough as the Mounders were outscored by a point – 23 to 22 – in the final 18 minutes.
Russo led the Mounders in scoring with a dozen followed by Delikowski with eight while Bartig and Knutson each tallied five.
Brex Todd hauled in ten of Elk Mound’s 25 rebounds.
Durand, who did not take a foul shot in the first half, had 16 tries in the second half, making nine to secure the 13-point win.
Zack Nelson and Ethan Anibas led with 13 and 11 points, respectively, with Gunnar Hurlburt added nine and Ethan Fedie eight.