Toppers tumble against Middle Boarder foes
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By Joel DeWitt
Sports Corespondent
The Glenwood City boys’ basketball team concluded the pre-New Years portion of their schedule with a pair of road contests against Middle Border conference opponents.
While the games varied, the results remained consistent as the Hilltoppers dropped both to fall to 5-3 (2-1) as 2023 comes to a close.
They opened the week on December 18 traveling to Amery. The Warriors strong inside presence outbounded the Toppers 38 to 22 and outscored them 48 to 16 in the paint enroute to the 71-46 win.
Glenwood ended the week heading to Ellsworth on December 21. While the Hilltoppers were able to jump to the halftime lead, the Panthers stormed back with 37 second half points to secure the 55-49 victory.
Amery
The Hilltoppers found themselves down 8-0 early. Morgan Eggert’s 3-pointer four minutes into the game put the Hilltoppers on the board and trimmed the Warrior led to 8-3.
Amery extended the lead to 16-7, however Caleb Klinger drained a 3-pointer to bring the Toppers to within six. Klinger hit another trey on the next possession to trim the Warrior advantage to 16-13.
Amery pushed the lead to 23-15 near the midway mark of the first half, however the hot shooting Klinger connected on his third 3-pointer of the half to bring his team to within five points.
Klinger’s 3-pointer ignited a Hilltopper 11-0 run that saw the Hilltoppers jump out to a 26-23 lead.
The run was highlighted by a Zach Hill 12-foot jumper and back-to-back 3-pointers by Tyler Harrington.
Unfortunately for the Hilltopers, the lead did not last. The Warriors ended the first half outscoring the Toppers 15-3 over the final 7:21 to go into intermission up 38-29.
Amery extended their lead to 13 points six minutes into the second half, however another Harrington triple trimmed the Warrior advantage to 51-41.
The Hilltopper offense went cold from there. The final 11:15 saw the Warriors outscore the Hilltoppers 20-5 to secure a 71-46 win.
Harrington led Glenwood in scoring on the night putting in 20 points on 7-12 shooting, including 5-7 from behind the arc. Klinger added 11 on the night, including three 3-pointers.
Ellsworth
Glenwood controlled the pace of the game much of the first half. A pair of free-throws by Morgan Eggert and 3-pointer by Brody Olson put the Toppers up 5-0 with less the two minutes off the clock.
Glenwood extended their lead to six when Klinger’s fast break basket put the Toppers up 11-5.
Ellsworth cut the led to 11-10, but baskets by Harrington and Brody Riba restored the five point advantage.
The Panthers were able to cut the lead to one at 15-14 with 6:00 left in the half. The resilient Toppers did respond.
Glenwood City closed the half on a 10-4 run to go into halftime with a 25-18 lead.
While the Hilltoppers controlled much of the first half, the roles reversed in the second. The Panthers used a 22-3 run over the first seven minutes of the second period to jump to the 40-28 lead.
The only Hilltopper basket over that period was an Olson elbow 3-pointer to give his team a temporary lead at 28-26.
Glenwood fought back from the 12 point deficit and carved the Panther advantage to three at 46-43 on a Harrington corner trey with 1:33 left in the game.
Ellsworth extended the lead to seven at 53-46 before Olson drained his fifth 3-pointer on the night with less than ten seconds remaining to cut the shortfall to four.
Regardless, the Panthers hit on a pair of free-throws in the remaining seconds to secure the 55-49 victory.
Olson’s five 3-pointers account for 15 of his team high 19 points on the night. Harrington was the only other Topper in double-digits with 10.
The Hilltoppers return to action on January 2 with a non-conference tune-up against Prairie Farm (1-5). Glenwood City will host the Panthers for a 7:15p.m. tipoff.