Glenwood City boys split D-SC games, nip Mondovi but fall to Durand-Arkansaw
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THE HILLTOPPERS’ Ben Klatt (#23) attempted a shot at a December 17 conference game played at home versus Mondovi. Glenwood City won the game 52-48. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
GLENWOOD CITY — Losers of two straight games, the Glenwood City boys’ basketball team was hoping to snap out of a funk. The second half of both losses saw the Hilltoppers outscored by a combine 23 points en route to dropping to 1-2 in early action.
The Hilltoppers had two chances to reverse the trend of second-half swoons with a pair of games at home against conference opponents Mondovi and Durand-Arkansaw.
The Hilltoppers hosted Mondovi on Tuesday, December 17. They trailed the Buffaloes by as much as nine points in the first half before a 17-8 run knotted the score at 25 apiece at halftime.
Glenwood City led by as much as ten points in the second and held on for the four-point win at 52-48.
The Hilltoppers wrapped up the 2024 portion of their schedule on Friday, December 20 taking on defending conference champions Durand-Arkansaw. The strong second half against Mondovi carried over to a fast start for Glenwood, but the Hilltoppers fell victim to their second-half woes and gave up 41 points after halftime and fell 66-49.
Glenwood City (2-3, 1-2) resumes action when they travel to Luck (2-4) to take on the Cardinals for their first game of the new year on Friday, January 3. They host Lake Holcombe (3-4) on Monday January 6. Both games tipoff at 7:15 p.m.
Mondovi
Mondovi opened the game taking a 7-1 lead with only three minutes off the clock, with Brady Thompson splitting on a pair of free throws to get the Hilltoppers on the board. Brody Olson drained two pairs of free throws on consecutive possessions to cut the Buffalo lead to two.
After Mondovi’s Jesse Johnston drained a 3-pointer to extend the lead to five, Olson drained a corner 3-pointer at 11:59 to cut it back to two points at 10-8. Mondovi proceed to go on a 7-0 run to take a nine-point lead midway through the first half at 17-8.
However, that would be the biggest lead Mondovi saw on the night. Olson was fouled on the next possession and made the layup and ensuing free throw to cut the lead to six points. After another Buffalo bucket, Thompson’s fast-break basket sparked a 14-6 Hilltopper run to finish the half.
GLENWOOD CITY’S Brady Thompson scored a basket in the second half of conference home game against Mondovi. The Toppers defeated the Buffaloes 52 to 48 as Thompson finished with 15 points. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Three free throws, a pair from Olson and one from Brody Riba, along with a layup from Tyler Harrington and a pair of baskets by Thompson pushed the Hilltoppers to the 22-21 lead with 4:30 left in the half.
After heading into the locker room at halftime tied at 25-25, Mondovi jumped out to the 33-30 advantage at the 11:36 mark of the second half.
Regardless, the remainder of the game belonged to the Hilltoppers.
Ben Klatt drained a five-foot jumper and Thompson had a put back on a rebound to propel the Toppers into the lead and ignite a 11-0 run. A driving layup and 3-pointer by Olson along with a Riba fast break basket extended the lead to 41-33.
Minutes later Harrington converted on a pair of free throws to push the Topper advantage to double digits at 45-35 as Glenwood coasted in for the 52-48 win on the night.
Olson paced the Hilltoppers with 19 points, ten rebounds, and five assists. Thompson was the only other Hilltopper in double figures with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting.
Durand-Arkansaw
The Hilltoppers started strong on the night taking an early 8-0 lead against the Panthers with 15:24 remaining in the first half. Olson opened the scoring with a 15-foot jumper from the elbow. After Klatt hit on a baseline shot, Harrington buried a 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead to seven. Klatt finished out the great start by hitting on one of two free throws.
The Panthers countered with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to trim the lead to two at the 13:28. Thompson interrupted the run hitting on a single free throw, but Durand-Arkansaw poured in the next seven points to go out ahead 13-9 with 8:05 left in the half.
Harrington quickly responded with a 3-pointer to cut the led to one. Back-to-back buckets by Olson gave the Hilltoppers the 16-15 lead with 5:05 left in the half. A field goal by Olson and six free throws, four by Klatt and two by Harrington, concluded the first half scoring as the Toppers went into halftime down 25-24.
The second half saw a complete reversal of fortunes for the Hilltoppers. Durand-Arkansaw scored the first seven points of the half to extend its lead to eight at 32-24 less than three minutes into the second half. Later they went on a 23-10 run to push their lead to 59-38 with 5:16 left in the game.
A 9-0 run sparked by Harrington’s 3-point play cut the Panthers lead to 12 at 59-47, but the Hilltopper couldn’t claw back into this contest and fell 66-49.
Harrington scored 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including the only two Hilltopper 3-pointers on the night. Olson contributed 14 points to go along with his 11 rebounds.