Elk Mound boys win home game over Altoona, nip G-E-T by a point

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Elk Mound’s boys improved to 6-1 on the basketball court as it recorded a pair of non-conference wins these past two Friday nights.

Elk Mound, in conjunction with its girls’ squad, hosted a doubleheader versus Altoona. The boys sank a dozen three-point baskets en route to defeating the Rails 71-61 in the night cap of the December 27 games.

The Mounders boys then opened the new year against Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (G-E-T), a school that had knocked them out of the playoffs the previous two seasons, in a non-conference contest played January 3rd on the Red Hawks’ court. Elk Mound earned a measure of revenge when it was able to erase a 15-point, first-half deficit and pulled off a thrilling 64-63 road win.

Altoona

Elk Mound began its December 27 home contest against Altoona with a hot hand from beyond the three-point arc. Six of the Mounders first seven baskets were three pointers.

“We came out hot from the three-point line,” said first-year Elk Mound coach Dennis Arneson. “We started up with a 20-12 lead.”

During that opening salvo, Cale Knutson, Zeb Robinson and Logan Jerome all hit on a pair of triples.

 Altoona, however, responded with a 20-3 run that gave it a 32-23 advantage.

Fortunately, Elk Mound recovered and was able to close out the first half on its own 11-1 run for a 34-33 halftime lead. The run was finished by Kameron Diermeier who stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for the basket and foul. He completed the conventional three-point play when  he sank the free throw. Then moments later, Diermeier took an offensive charge on the other end.

“It was a huge cap to finish the half and get the energy swing in our direction,” stated Arneson.

In the second half, Elk Mound would again find itself trailing, this time by five points at 36-41. But, another Mounder scoring run, this one 12-0, put the hosts in front 48-41. It was a lead Elk Mound never relinquished.

“Our boys did a great job on staying composed during the runs of the game. They gritted up before half to swing the momentum our way heading into the break,” noted Arneson.

After they dropped eight threes in the opening half, the Mounders made four more in the second half which were critical in that scoring run.

 The 12-0 Elk Mound scoring splurge was sparked by a deep Jerome triple, then followed by a Diermeier lay up and three from the 14 minute mark to the 9 minute mark and resulted in the 10-point win.

“That run put us in the lead that we never gave it up. That was a huge non-conference win over a team in our playoff bracket,” concluded Arneson.

Four of the Mounders six scorers finished in double figures and had at least one triple in the game. Logan Jerome tallied three treys and as many deuces to finish with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Mounders in victory. Cale Knutson finished just a point back with 15 which included four three pointers. Zeb Robinson netted three triples and went 4-for-6 at the line for 13 points and Victor Noller added ten after also going 4-for-6 on free throws. Diermeier and Brody Niven each had a three to finish with nine and eight points respectively. 

G-E-T

To say that the Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Red Hawks have been a thorn in Elk Mound’s side may be a bit of an understatement.

Elk Mound’s past two basketball seasons were ended by G-E-T. The Red Hawks defeated the Mounders 80-48 in a 2023 D3 regional final in Elk Mound and 61-55 in last year’s D3 sectional semifinal that was played in Arcadia.

So, the Mounders were due.

It wasn’t, however, looking too good for Elk Mound early in the January 3rd contest played at G-E-T High School.

After being down by 15 points at halftime, 40-25, thanks to some efficient long-range shooting by the Red Hawks, Elk Mound rallied behind scoring performances of junior Victor Noller and senior Logan Jerome.

Noller scored a team-high 24 points including 16 in the second half and Jerome finished with 19, 15 of which also came in the latter half, to led Elk Mound to a thrilling one-point, 64-63, road win. Cale Knutson also contributed 13 points as he made three of the Mounders’ five triples and Zeb Robinson netted eight points to finish off the scoring for the locals.  

Elk Mound held only a brief lead once in the first half. G-E-T began to hit shot after shot behind the arc and finished  8-for-15 or 53 percent from three-point land in that first half. Most of the that damage was done by 6’ 7” junior  Travis Theisen who made seven threes in all including five in the opening stanza.

Theisen hit another trey to start the second half which put his Red Hawks in front by 18 points.

To its credit, Elk Mound battled back and forth to cut the lead but found itself down by 13, 45-58, with just 5:13 left in the game.

At that point, the Mounders were forced to ramp up their pressure and created numerous turnovers in the ensuing minutes and got within three points with 3:15 left.

Robinson got a steal and laid it in to tie the game up at 60.

Jackson Burns, a 6’ 5” G-E-T senior, converted on a conventional three-point play in the paint and Hawks went ahead by three. 

Logan Jerome penetrated the baseline on the next possession and dropped a dime to Victor Noller in front of the rim. After a couple of fouls and under a minute left, GET had a bad pass which led to a turnover. Logan Jerome got fouled on the next possession as his teammates were trying to get the ball to him on the block.

With the Mounders in the bonus, Jerome hit back-to-back free throws to put his team in front by one, 64-63, with 18 seconds remaining.

As it turned out, those were the last points put up on the scoreboard. G-E-T had a shot at the rim at the buzzer but it was short giving Elk Mound and improbable come-from-behind win.

Besides Theisen’s’ 27 points, Burns tallied 19 for the Red Hawks who finished with ten threes.

Elk Mound traveled to Black River Falls Tuesday night for a non-conference game. The Mounders, who are 2-0 in the Dunn-St. Croix and a half game behind front runner Spring Valley, will play at the Cardinals’ nest this Friday in a battle for first place. Elk Mound will then host Fall Creek for a non-conference game next Monday, January 13.