Mounders boys’ basketball beats Adams-Friendship, falls to number two Altoona

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By Amber Hayden

The Elk Mound boys’ basketball team, which was seeded seventh, opened the week and regional tournament play with a home win over #10 Adams-Friendship on Tuesday, March 3, but fell 11 points shy of beating the number two-seeded Altoona Railroaders on Friday evening, March 6.

Patience and energy were key factors for the Mounders in their first-round win in the 2020 WIAA Division 3 tournament last Tuesday evening as they beat the Green Devils of Adams-Friendship by seven points – 61-54. With Ryan Bohl leading the way for the group of Mounder boys with 20 points, Elk Mound was able to easily move into a second-round game later in the week.

Friday’s game was a different story, however, as Elk Mound was unable to put its offense into high gear and lost the regional semifinal contest, 56-45, to the Railroaders, who went on to defeat Mauston the following evening for the regional championship. The Mounders struggled to shut down Nate McMahon and Brayden Turk throughout 36 minutes of play, as the duo scored 35 of Altoona’s 56 points.

With the playoff split, Elk Mound finished the 2019-20 hardwood campaign with a 13-11 record.

Adams-Friendship

Elk Mound opened the WIAA Division 3 tournament Tuesday evening, March 3, with a 61-54 win over the Green Devils of Adams-Friendship.

“The guys battled all night,” said head coach Michael Kessler. “I thought our energy on defense and patience on offense were keys to the game.”

Ryan Bohl led the Mounders on the hardwood with a total of 20 points stemming from four triples, a pair of twos, and was four-for-six at the line.

Seniors Cole Steinhorst and Cade Hanson had a productive evening putting up 19 points between the pair. Steinhorst had a double, triple, and was two-for-two from the charity stripe, and Hanson had four doubles, a triple, and was one-for-two at the line.

“We were also able to get out and run on Adams-Friendship and that led to some easy key transition buckets for us,” Kessler explained.

Elk Mound headed into half time up by eight, 33-25, which worked in favor of the Mounders as Adams-Friendship outscored them by one point in the second half, 28-29.

Ben Heath ended his evening with ten points off of two doubles, a lone trey, and was three-for-four from the line.

Also scoring for Elk Mound were Nate Lew with a double and four foul shots, Blaze Todd with a pair of twos, and Michael Jenson with one double.

Elk Mound (61)

FG-FT-F-TP: R. Bohl 6-4-1-20, B. Heath 3-3-3-10, N. Lew 1-4-2-6, C. Steinhorst 2-2-1-7, C. Hanson 5-1-1-12, B. Todd 2-0-2-4, M. Jenson 1-0-2-2. Totals 20-14-13-61.

Adams-Friendship (54)

FG-FT-F-TP: C. Klaus 6-1-2-16, J. Jossart 2-1-4-5, K. Holloway 3-1-4-8, D. Pollex 2-2-5-6, C. Quinnell 1-4-1-6, C. Hamilton 4-5-2-13. Totals 18-14-19-54.

Elk Mound 33 28 – 61

Adams-Friendship 25 29 – 54

3-point goals: Elk Mound: R. Bohl (4), B. Heath, C. Steinhorst, C. Hanson; Adams-Friendship: C. Klaus (3), K. Holloway.

Altoona

For Elk Mound, the 1-3-1 defense they have run all season was not enough to shut down #2 Altoona in the 56-45 loss to the Railroaders in the regional semifinal last Friday, March 6.

The Mounders did manage a lead in the opening minutes, but with 11:26 Altoona tied things up 7-7 and moved into the lead a minute later.

“I thought we didn’t give up as many points, with what Altoona normally scores,” said coach Kessler. “I thought we played with our hands down at times, but for the most part I thought our rotations were pretty good.”

Ben Heath was a saving grace for Elk Mound in the opening half, putting up three doubles and a triple while suffering only one foul.

But what hurt the Mounders most was Altoona’s double team on Ryan Bohl and Michael Jenson that kept the two from putting up the big three-pointers they have become accustomed to hitting.

“I thought our kids defended well. The biggest thing to me in the first half there were three possessions in a row where we would make a bucket, and then they would come down miss one and then get the offensive rebound,” stated Kessler

Elk Mound put the pressure on Altoona with a full-court press, which was effective a couple of times where Cade Hanson and Ben Heath were able to get the steal and head to the bucket.

In the second half, Elk Mound came out aggressive with Heath hitting the first two points of the half for Elk Mound with just 30 seconds off of the clock.

Which was followed several minutes later by Blaze Todd as he hit a double and was sent to the line for two. Unfortunately, both shots circled the rim without falling in.

“Unfortunately tonight we didn’t knock down as many shots as we have been doing,” Kessler explained. “But I really loved the aggressiveness tonight, I’m really proud of this team.”

Elk Mound played a complete basketball team from start-to-finish that had fans and players on the edge and hoping for a win.

During the second half, Blaze Todd stepped up in a big way for Elk Mound to score all ten of his points while fighting off two defenders on his way to the basket.

With two minutes to go, Nate Lew fell to the floor and a medical time out was called. According to Kessler, it did not look good, but he had yet to speak with the medical trainer about the injury.

Elk Mound will now look to replace seniors Blaze Todd, Cade Hanson, Cole Steinhorst, and Kyle Deling for next season as the four will walk the stage during May’s graduation ceremony.

Elk Mound (45)

FG-FT-F-TP: R. Bohl 0-1-3-1, B. Heath 7-1-4-17, C. Hanson 4-0-4-8, B. Todd 4-2-3-10, M. Jenson 3-0-4-9. Totals 18-4-22-45.

Altoona (56)

FG-FT-F-TP: N. McMahon 5-3-0-16, K. Harris 2-4-0-8, E. Moss 2-0-4-4, C. Ternberg 1-0-0-3, B. Turk 8-0-5-19, M. Salsburg 1-3-2-6. Total 19-10-13-56.

Elk Mound 18 27 – 45

Altoona 26 30 – 56

3-point goals: Elk Mound: B. Heath (2), M. Jenson (3); Altoona: N. McMahon (3), C. Ternberg, B. Turk (3), M. Salsburg.