Boyceville boys’ season ends with regional loss to McDonell
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CHIPPEWA FALLS — The WIAA Division 4 boys’ basketball regional quarterfinal between the visiting Boyceville Bulldogs and the Macks of Chippewa Falls McDonell Central turned into a three-point shooting contest.
The two squads combined for 18 three-point baskets in their opening-round playoff matchup played Tuesday, February 27 in the McDonell gymnasium.
The Macks, seeded sixth, made 11 baskets from behind the three-point arc to hold on for a tight 68-65 victory that ended the season of the 11th-seeded Bulldogs, who tallied seven triples in the contest.
With that first-round defeat, Boyceville finished the 2023-24 hardwood campaign with an overall record of 12-13 which included a 6-8 mark and fifth-place finish in this year’s final Dunn-St. Croix Conference boys’ standings.
Last Tuesday’s playoff contest was a close affair from the opening tip to the final horn.
McDonell held a slim 37-35 lead at the intermission with Cooper Mittermeyer knocking down three triples in the first half and teammates Karson Galvez and Cael Holm adding two and one, respectively.
In that first 18 minutes of action, Boyceville countered with four long balls of their own – two off the hands of sophomore Carson Roemhild and one each by fellow sophomore Owen Rydel and senior Devin Halama. Rydel tallied ten points total in the first half of play, Carson Roemhild had eight and Halama and senior post player Grant Kaiser each had seven.
In the second half, the Bulldog found success inside as well as they went to Kaiser who sank five hoops and converted on both of his free throws for another 12 points.
Senior Caden Wold got into the three-point act with a pair of second-half swishers and Nick Olson added one of his own.
The Macks, who barely outscored the Bulldogs 31-30 in that final stanza, held on for the three-point win thanks to five more second-half treys.
In his final game, Grant Kaiser finished with 19 points to lead five Bulldogs in double figures. Fellow seniors Halama and Wold scored a dozen and 11 points, respectively, in their swan songs and Carson Roemhild and Owen Rydel both added ten. Boyceville finished 12-for-18 at the foul line.
McDonell Central had four players reach double digits. Galvez tallied 19 behind four, three pointers, Jordan Sikora netted 16, Mittermeyer also had quartet of triples to finish with 14 points and Holm added 11. The Macks made nine of their 17 free throws.
It was the final time six seniors donned the Bulldog basketball jersey. Graduating his spring will be Nick Olson, Caden Wold, Peter Wheeldon, Devin Halama, Braden Roemhild and Grant Kaiser.