Bulldogs nip Toppers in D-SC boys’ basketball battle

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by Joel DeWitt

Sports Correspondent

GLENWOOD CITY — The boys’ basketball match-up on Thursday, January 11 between Glenwood City and Boyceville pitted two teams sitting in similar positions. Both are hovering around .500 midway through the season and looking to move up in the Dunn-St. Croix standings.

The visiting Bulldogs came into the contest winners of the three of four, their only loss in that stretch was on January 8 versus Chetek-Weyerhaeuser, and boasting a series sweep of Glenwood City last year.

The Hilltoppers, winners of two of three to start 2024, were looking to regain their conference footing after a loss to conference leader Durand-Arkansas. A win would keep them within two games of the D-SC lead.

Things were looking bright for the Hilltoppers early on. Glenwood City held a four point advantage at halftime, and extended the lead to 11 on Morgen Eggert’s face-break bucket, making it 30-19.

However, the Bulldogs clawed back with 39 points in the final 14:30 of the game to take the lead at 52-51 with 1:30 remaining in the game. Boyceville extended the lead to four at 58-54 on a made free-throw from Carson Roemhild with 00:05 left in regulation.

Brody Olson drained a  three pointer on the next Hilltopper possession, but time expired shortly after the shot and the Bulldogs held on for the hard fought 58-57 win.

“Our defense was working well to limit Boyceville’s inside game,” indicated Glenwood City coach Patrick Olson. “They shot the ball well from the 3-point line and we made crucial mistakes down the stretch such as taking poor offensive shots, not boxing out on free-throws, and turnovers.”

Boyceville drained eight 3-pointers on the night, compared to only five for the Hilltoppers. The Bulldogs also had a decisive advantage on the boards outrebounding the Hilltoppers 37-18.

“Overall, I think in the second half we just played up to our potential as a team to overcome the 11-point, second half deficit,” said Boyceville coach Colby Dotseth. “We had 13 offensive rebounds in the second half which gave us great opportunities for high percentage shots.”

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a Caden Wold 3-pointer and Devin Halama’s baseline drive and bucket.

The Toppers quickly struck back. Brody Olson’s basket sparked a 14-4 run to jump out to the 14-9 advantage. Eggert bookended the run with a three pointer with a little over 6:00 left in the first quarter.

Wold single-handedly knotted the score at 14 apiece with a three pointer and a floating jumper from 10 feet out.

Tyler Harrington’s corner three pointer on the Hilltopper’s next possession gave his team a 17-14 lead that they would not relinquish until late in the second half. 

The Hilltoppers extended their advantage to 23-16 before Owen Rydel’s 3-point basket concluded the first half scoring and brought the Bulldogs to within four points at 23-19.

The Hilltoppers quickly extended that lead to 11 to start the second half. Brody Olson’s baseline jumper started the scoring. Harrington followed that up with another three pointer. Eggert picked up a loose ball on the pursuing Bulldog possession leading to a fastbreak basket and a 30-19 lead.

Carson Roemhild hit a trey with a little under 11:00 remaining in the game to begin the Bulldogs counterattack. The three pointer cut the Hilltopper lead to 35-27 and triggered an 18-7 run that ended with a Rydel jumper with 5:20 left in the game to knot the game at 42-42.

Brody Riba’s jumper in the lane on the next possession appeared to stem the Bulldog tide, but Halama responded with a loose ball put back to tie it up once again.

After trading buckets for the next 1:30, the Hilltoppers took their final lead with 2:24 left when Brady Thompson’s layup put Glenwood City up 51-50.

Grant Kaiser gave his squad the lead shortly after with a put back on a Wold miss to give the Bulldogs a 52-51 advantage and initiate an 8-3 run which ended with Carson Roemhild hitting the second of two free throws with 00:05 left to extend the Bulldog advantage to 58-54.

The ensuing Hilltopper  three pointer was on mark, but time expired and the Bulldogs secured their second conference victory of the season.

The win evens the Bulldogs mark on the year at 7-7 and leaves them half a game behind Glenwood City in the conference standings at 2-4. 

“We are .500 on the season but I do think winning four of our last five has really helped us take our strides as a team towards success the rest of the season,” praised coach Dotseth after the Bulldog victory.

“We need to take advantage of free throws and close games out,” commented coach Olson. “We had opportunities and didn’t take advantage of them.” 

The Hilltoppers were led offensively by Olson with 16 points and Eggert with 15 points. Harrington added nine points going 3-4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Boyceville had three players notch double digits, with Halama and Rydel both putting up 15 points. Wold was 3-4 from behind the 3-point line and added 11 on the evening.

Both teams jump into their conference schedule next week. Boyceville hosts Mondovi  January 16 and Durand-Arkansaw  January 19, games start at 7:15 p.m.

The Hilltoppers travel to Colfax January 16, and host Elk Mound January 19. Games start at 7:15 p.m.