Mounder boys cage Wolves, nip Panthers to win outright conference championship
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The Elk Mound boys’ basketball team had plenty to celebrate last week when it closed out the 2022-23 regular campaign with a pair of Dunn-St. Croix wins.
With an impeding snow storm bearing down on states throughout the northern half of the US including Wisconsin, Thursday’s scheduled home contest with Elmwood-Plum City was moved up to Tuesday, February 21 with a 4 p.m. start time. The Mounders didn’t seem to mind especially junior Kaden Russo who collected his 1,000th career point with a couple of minutes remaining the first half and helped lead his team to a 53-42 win over the upstart Wolves.
The Mounders then traveled to Durand Saturday afternoon for the regular season and conference finale. A little over three weeks earlier, Elk Mound used a dominate second-half performance to propel it to a 73-54 victory over Durand-Arkansaw and sole possession of first place in the conference standings. The February 25 rematch was a close affair throughout, but the Mounders managed to hold off the host Panthers 52-48 to claim the outright Dunn-St. Croix Conference championship with an unblemished 14-0 mark. Durand-Arkansaw, which was the defending conference co-champ along with Spring Valley, had to settle for second place this year after finishing 12-2 in league play.
Elk Mound heads in to this week’s WIAA Division 3 playoffs with a 19-5 overall record, a number two seed and a first-round bye. The Mounders will host the winner of Tuesday’s Arcadia (#7) versus Mauston (#10) regional quarterfinal game on Friday, March 3. A win would put them in the regional championship the following day.
Elmwood-Plum City
Despite coming into last Tuesday’s game in Elk Mound with just a pair of conference wins and only five victories overall, Elmwood-Plum City has been playing some strong basketball over final few weeks of the regular season.
The Wolves showed their late-found tenacity as they trailed the Mounders by just five points, 30-25, at the break. But, Elk Mound was able to put a little more breathing room between it and EPC in the second half to claim a hard-fought 53-42 victory in a game that Mounders head coach Chris Hahn felt like a tournament contest.
“It was an unusual night that provided us an opportunity to experience what tournament games will be like,” noted Hahn. “We played at a different time and there was no JV game beforehand. We did not play with much intensity and our effort on defense was minimal until the last six minutes of the game.”
Thankfully, the Mounders’ offense was boosted by a trio of double-digit scorers – Sam Wenzel, Kaden Russo and Ryan Bartig.
Wenzel commanded the paint especially in the later minutes of the final half finishing 8-for-14 from the field and 6-for-9 at the charity stripe to lead all scorers with 22 points. He also hauled in 11 of the Mounders’ 25 rebounds.
Russo, who eclipsed the 1,000-point plateau with 2:16 to play in the first half, finished with 16 points thanks to a 6-for-9 shooting performance (67 percent) including 3-of-5 from behind the three-point arc. Russo also had three steals.
“Kaden scored his 1,000th career point tonight and that was a big accomplishment for him personally,” stated Hahn of Russo’s scoring milestone.
“He has worked so hard and put a lot of time and work into his game. The most impressive thing is how humble is and he’d rather win games with his teammates than receive individual recognition. As good as he is as a basketball player, he’s an even better person and it’s been a pleasure having the opportunity to coach him and his teammates this season,” added Hahn.
Ryan Bartig contributed 13 points in the home victory hitting 5 of his 11 shots including a trey, finished 2-for-3 at the free throw line and had three assists.
Although he didn’t score, sophomore Cale Knutson found other ways to make a difference collecting six rebounds, dishing out seven assists and tying Russo for the team lead in steals with three.
Elk Mound finished 24-for-58 shooting or just over 41 percent including 4-for-13 on threes and hit 9-of-16 free tosses.
Elmwood-Plum City tried several long range shots to keep pace with Elk Mound. Taking 27 attempts from behind the three-points arc, the Wolves made eight but had just eight two-point hoops and were a meager 2-for-4 at the line. EPC’s top scorer, Lucas Glaus, who averages just over 17 point per game, finished with 14 points to lead the Wolves. Blake Allen added eight, Aaden Birtzer finished with six and Aiden Maxwell contributed five.
Durand
Durand-Arkansaw was gunning for a share of its second straight Dunn-St. Croix boys’ basketball title when league-leader Elk Mound visited the Panthers’ lair last Saturday afternoon for the conference and regular season finale.
Elk Mound had beaten Durand-Arkansaw by 19 points in a February 3 battle of conference unbeatens played on the Mounders home court. Ever since, Elk Mound has been able to sustain that one-game lead.
The February 25 contest was tight throughout with the Panthers taking a slim 25-23 advantage into halftime. But, the Mounders outscored their hosts 29 to 23 in the final 18 minutes of action to claim a 52-48 win and with it the conference championship with a perfect 14-0 record.
Durand-Arkansaw, with both of its Dunn-St. Croix defeats coming at the hands of Elk Mound, finished in second place with a 12-2 mark.
“This game had a playoff-like atmosphere. The gym was packed with conference title implications on the line. What more could two good teams ask for?” said Hahn.
“The kids from both schools have worked so hard to enjoy this experience. I was very proud of our grit and perseverance tonight. Shots we normally make just didn’t find their way to the bottom of the net as often tonight, but our kids kept playing through it and never got rattled,” he added.
While seven players from each squad scored in the game only a pair of seniors finished in double digits – Elk Mound’s Ryan Bartig and Durand-Arkansaw’s Drae Bauer.
Bartig tallied a game-high 17 points to led the Mounders’ while Bauer put down 13 for the Panthers.
“Ryan Bartig carried us throughout the game. He hit big time shots in the first half, knocked down numerous free throws in the second half, and handled their full court pressure with ease,” stated Hahn.
“Having a player of Ryan’s caliber is a blessing as a coach. I am so happy for him and his teammates to experience an undefeated conference season. They earned it and have played as a team all season,” added Hahn.
Bartig finished 5-for-6 shooting with a pair of triples and was 5-for-8 at the free throw line.
Sam Wenzel scored nine points but was limited due to foul trouble in the second half and was spelled by Grandt Mueller who finished with six points.
“Sam got in a bit of foul trouble and Grandt Mueller came off the bench to give us a huge lift. He was very solid defensively and provided a spark on offense. He came into a high pressure situation and was calm and collected in a few big moments,” Hahn stated. “His six points saved us tonight. Even though he didn’t get a lot of minutes, he provided our team boosts in some critical moments when we needed buckets. I was very impressed with his composure.”
Cale Knutson and Kaden Russo also tallied six points a piece. Knutson’s scores came on a pair of second-half treys while Russo, who was 0-for-6 shooting, went 6-for-6 at the line.
“Cale Knutson hit two huge three pointers for us. After injuring his leg in practice the night before, I wasn’t even sure if Cale would play. He was really stiff Saturday morning and he was able to loosen up enough to play,” noted Hahn.
Knutson and Wenzel topped the rebounding charts with five each while added three blocks and a trio of steals.
Elk Mound shot 25 free throws and made 15 while Durand-Arkansaw only went to the line ten times, sinking six. The Panthers did however, edge the Mounders from three-point land, eight to five.