Mounder boys takedown Toppers, lose to Buffs
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JUNIOR Ryan Bartig went up with this shot during the second half of the Mounders 59-40 win in Glenwood City February 1. Bartig finished with six points. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Although the Elk Mound boys opened last week with a nice road win over Glenwood City, they returned to their home hardwood Friday only to be beaten by Mondovi.
After delivering a 59-40 win over the Hilltoppers in Glenwood City on Tuesday, February 1 to snap their three-game losing streak, Elk Mound failed in its attempt for a second straight win as it lost a close contest, 61-27, in overtime to the visiting Mondovi Buffaloes Friday, February 4.
The split left the Mounders with a 5-5 mark in the Dunn-St. Croix and an overall record of 10-9.
Elk Mound will host a pair of contests this week. Ellsworth played on the Mounders’ court Tuesday (Feb. 8) and first-place Durand will come calling on Thursday, February 10. Elk Mound will be in Boyceville next Tuesday, February 15.
Glenwood City
Elk Mound jumped out to a quick 11-0 advantage over host Glenwood City last Tuesday, February 1 and rolled into halftime with a 31-12 lead.
A full-court press in the opening half combined with dead-eye shooting from behind the three-points arc in both halves helped the Mounders cruise to the 59-40 victory over the Hilltoppers.
Cale Knutson hit on a trio of first-half threes and scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in that opening half while Brex Todd added a triple and the Mounders went a perfect 7-for-7 from the charity stripe to take a commanding 19-point lead at intermission.
LINED UP FOR THREE — Elk Mound’s Cale Knutson prepared to take a three-point shot from the corner during a February 1 game in Glenwood City. Knutson finished with five threes and 17 points to lead the Mounders to a 59-40 win over the Hilltoppers. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
Elk Mound, who subbed liberally after halftime, continued to put in threes as it finished with six of its ten triples in the final 18 minutes of play. Todd and Knutson both added two more threes to their tallies in the second half while Kaden Russo, who finished with 12 points, and Ethan Johnson, who netted nine points, each had a trey.
Offensively, the Hilltoppers played better matching the Mounders’ point-for-point in the second half as each squad tallied 28.
“Thought our guys put together a nice first half,” said Mounders’ coach Michael Kessler. “Besides a 3 to 4 minute stretch, I thought we did a nice job offensively of putting pressure on the lane.”
“Relatively pleased with the defensive effort we had in the half court, especially in the latter part of the first half, and a 6 minute stretch in the second. I thought in those stretches, we limited the paint touches they were trying to get,” he added.
Senior Drew Olson was the top point getter for Glenwood City as he finished with 13 points. Mitchell Bliese and Justin Moe chipped in for seven and six, respectively.
Elk Mound finished 7-for-8 from the free throw line while Glenwood City made 8 of its 14 attempts and finished with just a pair of three-point hoops.
Mondovi
Elk Mound and Mondovi battle to a stalemate at the end of regulation play February 4.
The Mounders had an opportunity to win the home game at the end of regulation but missed the shot, an all too common refrain for the Elk Mound boys last Friday.
The Buffaloes (5-5, 8-12) then outpointed the Mounders ten to six in the overtime period to take the 61-57 victory.
“We struggled knocking down shots for most of the night,” said Kessler. “We had some stretches where we could not get a stop. Proud of our guys for battling. Had a chance in regulation to win and another opportunity in overtime, but unfortunately it did not go our way.”
Elk Mound trailed by two, 26-24, at halftime despite hitting four of its seven threes in the opening half. Ethan Johnson, Ryan Bartig, Brex Todd and Aiden Bartholomew each had one from long range.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Jerome Delikowski scored six in the second half and four of the Mounders’ six in overtime.
But Mondovi’s Evan Gray came to life in the overtime period and scored nine of his 14 points in the extra frame which included a five-for-six performance at the free throw line.
Delikowski hit both his hoops and Caden Russo added another to give the Mounders a 57-56 advantage in overtime. But then Gray went to the charity stripe on three separate occasions and sank five freebies to give Mondovi the win.
Jared Falkner led the Buffs with 15 points and Max Marten added 12.
Eight Mounders scored in the game with Ryan Bartig leading the way with a dozen. Delikowski added ten, Ethan Johnson had nine, Russo eight and five each were scored by Brex Todd, Aiden Bartholomew and Cale Knutson.