Mounders boys squash Crickets
By Amber Hayden
FALL CREEK — The Elk Mound boys have been resilient on the basketball court as of late and last Monday’s non-conference road win over Fall Creek was no different.
The Mounder men squashed the Crickets in their own gymnasium 53-48 in the January 27 contest.
The win pushed the overall record for Elk Mound to 7-6, with a conference record of 5-2 which placed the team in second, at the time, a game behind Colfax and Durand who were tied at the top at 6-1.
“Our kids battled extremely hard all night,” said Elk Mound head coach Michael Kessler. “I thought we did a better job in the second half of contesting shots, rebounding, and attacking the paint on the offensive end.”
Elk Mound has been reliant on their ability to shoot from outside the arc and Ryan Bohl and Nate Lew netted six three-point baskets between the pair totaling 18 points in the game.
Bohl finished with four triples and three doubles to led the Mounders win with 18 points. He is also ranked third in the Dunn-St. Croix in assists per game with 2.8. Lew finished with 13 points off three doubles, a pair of threes, and was one-for-five at the line.
“A few adjustments in our full-court pressure generated a few turnovers in the second half that sparked a nice little run for us,” Kessler stated. “Credit to our guys for maintaining energy even when the shots weren’t falling for us, and they were falling for Fall Creek.”
Elk Mound trailed by three, 25-28, at the half but outscored host Fall Creek 28 to 20 in the second half to grab the victory.
Cole Steinhorst has been strong off the bench for Elk Mound and was again with a lone trey and a three-for-four performance at the line.
The Mounders had to fight back from a couple of deficits, according to Kessler, and were able to turn things around in their favor.
Also scoring for the Mounders were seniors Cade Hanson with eight points, Blaze Todd finished with six, and Kyle Deling had two points.
Elk Mound also hosted Colfax last Thursday and held on for a 50-48 win. That game story can be found elsewhere in this week’s sports pages.
Elk Mound welcomed Elmwood/Plum City last night, Tuesday, February 4, they will then travel to Spring Valley on Friday evening, February 7, and will return home to host the Tigers of Black River Falls, who are tied for first in the Coulee Conference at 4-2, next Monday, February 10.
Elk Mound (53)
FG-FT-F-TP: R. Bohl 7-0-3-18, N. Lew 5-1-4-13, C. Steinhorst 1-3-1-6, C. Hanson 4-0-1-8, B. Todd 3-0-0-6, K. Deling 1-0-2-2. Totals 21-4-14-53.
Fall Creek (48)
FG-FT-F-TP: FG-FT-F-TP: G. Schmidt 1-0-2-3, M. Denning 2-2-0-7, T. Ploeckelman 2-2-3-6, I. Katz 2-0-0-5, J. Fitch 6-2-2-14, S. Johnson 2-4-2-8, L. Olson 2-0-3-5. Total 16-10-12-48.
Elk Mound 25 28 – 53
Fall Creek 28 20 – 48
3-point goals: Elk Mound: R. Bohl (4), N. Lew (2), C. Steinhorst; Fall Creek: G. Schmidt, M. Denning, I. Katz, L. Olson.