Elk Mound boys pluck Orioles, route Raiders to open season with a pair of wins
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The Elk Mound boys’ basketball team tipped off its 2023-24 season last week with a pair of non-conference victories.
The Mounder boys welcomed Cloverbelt member Stanley-Boyd for their season and home opener last Tuesday, November 28. Trailing by a dozen points at intermission, Elk Mound was able to rally in the second half and force overtime when the squad’s finished regulation play tied at 50 all. The Mounders scored eight points to the Orioles three in the extra period to earn the 58-53 win.
Three days later in Arcadia, Elk Mound once again found itself trailing by double digits at intermission. But, a strong defensive effort, coupled with an increase in scoring allowed the Mounders to overtake the Raiders in the second half and post a 53-45 win in he December 1 contest. The hosts were held to just 11 second-half points by the Mounders’ defense.
Elk Mound hosted Black River Falls this past Monday, December 4. It will be in Mondovi on Thursday for the Dunn-St. Croix opener. The Mounders will travel back that direction next Tuesday, December 12 for a conference clash with Durand-Arkansaw.
Stanley-Boyd
The Mounder boys could have easily thrown in the towel during intermission when it trailed Stanley-Boyd by a dozen points in their season and home opener November 28.
But, they did not!
Instead, Elk Mound tightened up its defense and increased its offensive production in the second half which allowed the host to force overtime after regulation play ended in a 50-50 tie.
The Mounders outscored the Orioles 8 to 3 in the extra period of play to earn a hard fought 58-53 victory.
“The first game is always filled with unknowns,” said Elk Mound head coach Christopher Hahn. “It’s hard to predict how players will fit into new roles or how some may react to their first varsity experience.”
“This was the most physical November game I can honestly remember coaching. We had a lot of shots rim out and we couldn’t get shots to fall throughout the first half,” he added.
“We dug ourselves into a 14-point deficit. We gave Stanley Boyd too many uncontested paint points off of live ball turnovers and times when our wings and baseline runner did not adjust properly,” Hahn said of his team’s first-half play.
“I was proud of our team’s no quit attitude and even though the ball wasn’t going in and we were down double digits for most of the second half, they continued to play hard,” continued Hahn. “We force them into 25 turnovers for the game and continued to attack the basket through our post players and off the drive.”
In the overtime period, Elk Mound did not make a basket but sank 8 (4-for-4 by Russo) of its 12 foul shots while Stanley-Boyd’s only point came via a three.
Hahn credited seniors Kaden Russo and Sam Wenzel with carrying the Mounder offense throughout the second half and overtime periods. Russo had four points in the first half and Wenzel five but finished the game with 19 and 14, respectively, to led the Mounders to victory. Wenzel added a team-high 14 rebounds and Russo chipped in with six and a trio of assists.
Grandt Mueller finished with 13 points, four rebounds and four steals. Logan Jerome added six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals. Cale Knutson also tallied six point to go with four boards and an equal number of blocks.
“Logan Jerome was a menace on defense in the second half and was able to come down with some timely rebounds at critical junctures of the contest,” added Hahn.
Hayden Gustafson and Henry Hoel each finished with 16 points to lead Stanley-Boyd.
Arcadia
A frigid start and turnovers had Elk Mound in an early deficit once again when it played at Arcadia Friday, December 1.
The Mounders trailed the host Raiders 34-21 at the intermission. Elk Mound starters accounted for 20 of those 21 first-half points as Kaden Russo netted six points off three deuces, Grandt Mueller and Logan Jerome had five each and Sam Wenzel tallied four.
“We struggled in the first half,” said Hahn. “We had 12 first-half turnovers and our shot selection was poor. Our defensive energy was also lacking, which led to some easy buckets for Arcadia.”
In the second half, Elk Mound got a spark from its bench, specifically Zane Brice. He scored seven of his eight points in the second half, but it was his leadership and energy that helped the Mounders turn the game around.
“Zane Brice came off the bench for us and played an incredible game,” stated Hahn. “He gave us a spark that led to us overcoming a 17-point deficit. He took a charge, made a few buckets, and got us into our offense.”
In addition, Hahn said his players did a much better job of taking care of the ball (limiting turnovers), getting shots from the paint and playing great defense in the second half.
Brice’s spark helped to ignite others, particularly Wenzel and Jerome who scored nine and eight points, respectively, in the final half of play as each finished with 13 points to led the Mounders. Brice along with Russo and Mueller each finished with eight points.
While Elk Mound’s offense put up 32 second-half points, its defense clamped down on the Arcadia shooters allowing them just 11 points over the final 18 minutes of action to carry the Mounders to the 53-45 win.
“The team never quit, even though we dug ourselves a huge hole. We stayed together and continued to chip away at their lead throughout the second half. It was an impressive win considering we got behind by so much,” concluded Hahn.
Jerome led with nine rebounds and added three assists, Wenzel and Russo had a half dozen boards each, Cale Knutson came up with four steals.
Elk Mound was 3-for-12 on three pointers and 10-for-15 from the line.
Arcadia, which went 6-for-20 behind the arc and 3-for-5 at the line, was led by a trio of double-digit scorers. Kaiden Rotering led all scorers with 15, Maverick Drazkowski added 13 and Prestin Scow netted ten.