Elk Mound boys exit playoffs with loss to A-F Green Devils

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ELK MOUND — An off night shooting the basketball and way too many turnovers led to an early exit from the playoffs for the Elk Mound boys.

A tenacious 1-3-1 zone by the  taller Adams-Friendship squad forced Elk Mound into several uncharacteristic turnovers in the pair’s WIAA Division 3 regional boys’ semifinal basketball contest played on the Mounders’ home court last Friday, March 4. And the Mounders did not shoot particularly well in front of or behind the three-point arc all evening long despite making five triples in the game.

But, the Green Devils, who led by as many as a dozen points late in the contest, left the door open for the Mounders as they hit just ten of their 21 foul shots after attempting none in the first half. Elk Mound, seeded third, made a little run in the closing minutes of the game when Cale Knutson hit a pair of three-point shots and Brex Todd added another but it wasn’t enough as #11 Adams-Friendship held on for the 44-36 victory to move on to the regional championship the next evening against second seed Stanley-Boyd which the Green Devils won 54-38.

“Never easy to end a season,” said Michael Kessler, Elk Mound’s head coach.

“Tough night for our guys tonight.  AF’s length was an issue for us and they forced us into a lot of turnovers. Their pressure had us shooting tight all night long and we committed too many turnovers and did not shoot well. That is not a great recipe,” he added.

With the loss, Elk Mound finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 14-11 mark.

The Mounders grabbed an early 5-4 advantage on two- and three-point baskets by their leading scorer sophomore Kaden Russo who finished with a game high 14 points including a pair of treys.

The Green Devils (11-6), who played several Division 1 and 2 competitors in the regular season, maintained a slight lead over the Mounders for much of the first half.

A second triple off the hands of Russo knotted the contest at 13 all with just under five minutes to play in the opening half. Sam Wenzel then got free under the basket to score his only hoop of the game giving Elk Mound a 15-13 lead with three and a half minutes to play.

Unfortunately, it would be the Mounders’ final lead in the game.

A-F went on a six-point run to take a 19-15 lead into halftime.

Two quick baskets by the Mounders to start the second half tied the score at 19. But Adams-Friendship outscored its hosts 14-2 over the next eight minutes to build a 33-21 advantage.

Elk Mound began to chip away at Adams-Friendship’s lead thanks to some three point shots and a few in-the-paint hoops coupled with several A-F misses at the charity stripe. Brex Todd’s three pointer with about 17 seconds to play cut the Mounders’ deficit to seven at 36-43 but that was as close as they would get. The Green Devils added a final freebie to win 44-36.

Russo was the only Mounder in double digits. Cale Knutson finished with seven on a pair of treys and a free throw, Brex Todd tallied five including a three, Jerome Delikowski had four and Ethan Johnson, Ryan Bartig and Sam Wenzel each finished with two points. Elk Mound shot just four foul shots, two in each half, making three of them.

Three Green Devils finished in double digits led by senior Carson Klaus and junior Keyvon Holloway with 11 points each while junior Zander Klaus finished with ten.

“I really loved this group of kids, which makes it so much more sad that the season is done,” concluded Kessler. “(It was) really a tremendous group of kids that I loved spending the past 16 weeks with in the gym. I’m gonna miss our four seniors.”

The Mounders had to say goodbye to senior Ethan Johnson, Terry Mercer, Will King and Brex Todd.