Hilltopper boys drop pair of conference basketball games
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WITH AN Elk Mound defender pushing against him and another at his feet, Glenwood City sophomore Maxwell Janson (#21) tried to get off this shot during a Dunn-St. Croix boys’ basketball game in Elk Mound on Monday, January 4. Maxwell finished with nine points in the Toppers’ 66-37 loss to the Mounders. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
by Missy Klatt
Sports Correspondent
Two more games and two more losses were in store for the Glenwood City Hilltoppers boys’ basketball team this past week as they struggled to find victory on the court.
After a sluggish first half, the Toppers lost to the Mounders of Elk Mound 66-37, Monday, January 4th on the road and then dropped a 57-41 home contest to the Wolves from Elmwood/Plum City, going scoreless in the waning minutes of the Friday, January 8th hardwood battle.
The Toppers fell to 1-3 in the Dunn-St. Croix Conference and 2-5 overall with the most recent setbacks.
Head coach Tristan Kittilson is hoping to get back on track this Thursday, January 14th when they take on the Cardinals (3-1, 5-2) in Spring Valley. With Monday’s game against Durand being postponed this will be the only game for the Toppers this week. Glenwood City will be in Clear Lake next Monday, January 18 before returning home the next night, Tuesday, January 19, to host Mondovi.
Elk Mound
In the first half of last Monday’s game, the Mounders totally dominated, besting the Toppers by thirty points with a half time score of 43-13.
Head coach Tristan Kittilson admitted that his charges struggled against the Mounders’ 1-3-1 defense.
“We had a very high amount of turnovers in the first half, struggled shooting it when we did get an open look and had poor transition defense,” stated Kittilson.
The second half was much closer with the Toppers putting up 24 points to the Mounders 23 but by then the damage had been done.
“We really need to dig deep and start playing at a higher level,” commented a disappointed Kittilson.
Brandyn Hallquist, who was shut out in the first half, led the Toppers with ten points, followed by the Janson brothers, Gavin and Max who each had nine points. Drew Olson pulled down seven rebounds and Owen Swenby came up with two steals.
Glenwood City (37)
FG-FT-F-TP: Hallquist 4-1-1-10, Wickman 0-0-2-0, G. Janson 3-0-0-9, Olson 1-0-4-2, M. Janson 3-2-2-9, Eggert 1-0-2-2, Moe 1-0-0-3, Swenby 1-0-1-2, Wallin 0-0-1-0. Total 14-3-15-37
Elk Mound (66)
FG-FT-F-TP: Bohl 2-1-1-6, Bartig 1-0-2-3, Heath 11-1-0-24, Lew 2-1-0-6, Levra 1-0-0-2, Russo 7-1-0-18, Todd 0-0-0-0, Meyer 1-1-2-3, Gabert 0-1-0-1, Jenson 1-0-3-3. Total 26-6-8-66.
Glenwood City…..…..…..….……13 24 – 37
Elk Mound….…..…..…..…..……43 23 – 66
3-point goals: Glenwood City: Hallquist, G. Janson 3, M. Janson, Moe. Elk Mound: Bohl, Bartig, Heath, Russo 3, Jenson
Elmwood/Plum City
In Kittilson’s own words, this game “was a very hard fought and close game up to the last few minutes”.
The Toppers were keeping pace with the Wolves and by the end of the first half they trailed by just one point at 23-24. Hallquist had 13 of his team-leading 21 points in the first half. Drew Olson started the game with six points before he went down with a sprained ankle early in the half. This of course was a big loss for the Toppers.
In the second half, the game remained close and with about five minutes left to play, Hallquist hit back-to-back three pointers to tie the game at 41. Unfortunately, after that it was all Wolves as they went on a 16-point run to win 57-41. The Toppers had some turnovers and bad shots and couldn’t contain the Wolves’ Luke Webb who finished with 22 points including some key shots in the final six minutes of the game.
Glenwood City (41)
FG-FT-F-TP: Hallquist 8-0-1-21, Bliese 2-0-2-4, Wickman 1-0-3-4-2, G. Janson 1-0-3-2, Olson 3-0-0-6, M. Janson 1-0-1-2, Moe 0-0-3-0, Swenby 2-0-1-4. Total 18-0-15-41.
Elmwood/Plum City (57)
FG-FT-F-TP: Hartung 2-0-1-5, Whipple 2-0-2-4, Bartz 2-0-0-4, Pelzel 2-1-0-6, Gilles 5-2-0-12, Gansluckner 1-0-2-3, Webb 9-4-1-22, Bauer 0-1-1-1. Total 23-8-7-57.
Glenwood City…..…..…..….…23 18 – 41
Elmwood/Plum City….………24 33 – 57
3-point goals: Glenwood City: Hallquist 5. Elmwood/Plum City: Hartung, Pelzel, Gansluckner