Elk Mound boys beat defending D-SC champs, clipped by Prescott Cardinals
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
In a pair of tough road games last week, the Elk Mound boys’ basketball team earned a split.
The Mounders started the week with a trip to 5-1 Prescott last Tuesday, December 10. After trailing by ten points, Elk Mound took the lead in the second half, but was unable to hold on as Prescott rallied for the non-conference win by a count of 66-51. It was the locals first defeat of the season.
Three days later, Elk Mound traveled to Durand to face the defending Dunn-St. Croix champion Panthers of Durand-Arkansaw. Despite being Friday, the 13th, the Mounders had some good luck and even better play as they knocked off the Panthers 53-49 in the conference opener for both squads.
Prescott
The once-beaten Prescott Cardinals proved to be a tough test when Elk Mound visited their nest Tuesday, December 10.
The Elk Mound offense was stagnant in the first half and found itself trailing by ten points – 32 to 22 – at the intermission.
A 17 to 2 Mounders’ run to open the second half saw the visitors take a 39-34 advantage. That run was sparked by multiple paint touches and a huge three-point basket by senior Logan Jerome. Elk Mound held the lead until the six-minute mark of the game when Prescott took control.
“Kobe Russell hit tough shot after tough shot and we couldn’t respond,” said Elk Mound’s first-year head coach Dennis Arneson of the Cardinals 6’ 2” junior guard who scored 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half.
The Cardinals’ Russell-led surge forced the Mounders to foul which allowed the home team to extend their lead and secure a deceptive looking 66-51 victory.
“The final (score) looks worse than it was,” stated Arneson.
“I was proud of how our boys responded out of halftime facing a ten-point deficit,” he concluded.
Jerome led three Mounders in double figures with 16 points. Zeb Robinson finished with 14 points and Victor Noller had 13 points. The trio also accounted for all five of Elk Mound’s three-point makes with Jerome and Robinson making two each and Noller one.
Noller topped the rebounding chart with nine, Jerome added five and Parker Dutzle, Robinson and Cale Knutson had three each. Robinson also had six assists and Kamron Diermeier finished with five.
The Mounders shot just five free throws and made four.
Besides Russell’s 23-point performance which included three triples and a 4-of-6 effort at the line, the Cardinals got 15 points from Teddy Bernick who had four threes and a trio of free throws. In all, Prescott made 11 treys and went 11-for-14 at the charity stripe.
Durand-Arkansaw
Elk Mound turned a first-half deficit into a four-point, 53-49, win when it visited the Durand-Arkansaw Panthers’ lair Friday, December 13th.
After they found themselves down 21-12 to the defending Dunn-St. Croix Conference champions, the Mounders responded with a 9 to 2 run to end the half that not only got them back in the game, but pulled the Panthers out of the 2-3 defensive zone the hosts had been in since the opening tip. Durand-Arkansaw held a thin 23-21 lead at the break.
The second-half act was entertaining as the teams had their respective fans on the edge of their seats with nine lead changes.
Mounder senior Cale Knutson, who had been held scoreless in Prescott, had the hot hand in the second half. After sinking a pair of first half threes, Knutson scored 13 in the second half including two more triples, a pair of deuces and three out of four free tosses to lead Elk Mound to the win with 19 points.
Freshman Zeb Robinson also caught fire from behind the arc in the latter half as he made three consecutive treys and a highlight hoop over the Panthers’ 6’ 8” senior Dane Bates to finish with 18 points.
With the outcome still in doubt and Elk Mound clinging to a one-point advantage at 50-49, Knutson got the ball on a fast break and was fouled by the Panthers. The infraction was ruled intentional giving Knutson a pair of foul shots and the Mounders possession afterwards. Knutson made one of his two charity shots for a two-point Mounder lead. Unfortunately, Elk Mound was whistled for a 5-second infraction on the inbounds play after, according to Coach Arneson, not being granted a timeout.
Durand-Arkansaw took possession with 2.4 seconds remaining in the game. Like the Mounders, the Panthers had trouble inbounding the ball, but unlike their visitors was granted a timeout, one that they did not have.
The result was a technical foul and two free shots for Elk Mound. Knutson calmly stepped to the free throw line and sank both shots to secure the four-point Mounder win.
“I was so proud of how our boys battled throughout the entire contest. It’s always hard to play in the Durand gym and we got ourselves a great win over one of the best teams in the conference to start our conference play,” concluded Arneson.
Jerome added eight points for the Mounders and Noller chipped in with six. Jerome also led with eight bounds, three assists and a blocked shot. Knutson finished with six boards and four steals and Noller added five rebounds.
Elk Mound finished with eight threes in the game and was 7-for-10 at the line. Durand-Arkansaw made five shots from behind the arc and 8-for-11 at the free throw line.
Elk Mound, 3-1 overall, has a pair of back-to-back home games this week before taking a brief respite for Christmas. The Mounders welcome St. Croix Central this Thursday, December 19 and host conference rival Colfax the following evening – Friday, December 20.