Elk Mound boys handle Hilltoppers, beat Blackhawks, plucked by Cards
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SLAM DUNK — Elk Mound’s Logan Jerome (#10) prepared to slam dunk the basketball during the second half of last Thursday’s home game against Glenwood City. Jerome finished with nine points in Elk Mound’s 30-point win. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
While last Thursday’s lopsided 65-35 home victory over lowly Glenwood City helped the Elk Mound boys’ basketball team maintain a share of the Dunn-St. Croix lead with Durand-Arkansaw, the Mounders also got in a pair of non-conference contests last week.
Playing those two out-of-league games around their contest with the Hilltoppers, the Mounder boys had mixed results, besting Bloomer in a close affair 49-42 on their home hardwood last Tuesday, January 24 and losing 67-56 on the road to state-ranked Prescott this past Saturday, January 28.
The 30-point win against Glenwood City January 26 saw Elk Mound’s standing in the Dunn-St. Croix improve to 9-0, a mark they share with co-defending champion Durand-Arkansaw who the Mounders host this Friday, February 3. They tuned up for that showdown with a conference game in Mondovi last evening (Tuesday, January 31). Elk Mound, 11-4 overall, will also host St. Croix Central next Monday, February 6.
Bloomer
Using a lock-down defense in the second-half of its non-conference home contest against Bloomer January 24, Elk Mound overcame a five-point halftime deficit to nip the Blackhawks 49-42.
“This was a great team win for us against a very solid team,” said Mounders’ head coach Chris Hahn.
“We didn’t do a great job in the first half knowing where their best shooter was and got into a hole early. Thankfully, Cale (Knutson) hit enough shots to keep us within striking distance,” he added.
Knutson netted 13 of his game high 17 points in the first half including a trio of triples to keep Elk Mound within striking distance of Bloomer who led 29-24 at halftime.
Knutson got some scoring help in the second half.
Kaden Russo, who was held to six points off a three, a deuce and a free toss in the opening stanza, added eight more points in the second with a pair of triples and another two pointer. Sam Wenzel put in seven of his nine points in the latter half while Ryan Bartig scored all six of his points, a hoop and a 4-for-4 performance at the line, in the final 18 minutes.
“Coming out of halftime, we were able to score quickly on three straight possessions to take the lead,” said Hahn. “Sam, Cale, and Ryan all hit big time shots and then Ryan Bartig closed out the game with four straight free throws to keep us in a comfortable position.”
Another key to the Mounders’ victory was the ability to shut down Bloomer’s leading scorer Domanyck Schwarzenberger in the second half. Schwarzenberger averages nearly 24 points per game and had ten in the first half of Tuesday’s contest. But Elk Mound’s defense allowed Schwarzenberger just two points in the entire second half while holding the entire Blackhawks’ roster just 13 total points during that span.
THE MOUNDERS’ Aiden Bartholomew (#20) sent one of his two, three-point makes to the hoop during the second half of Elk Mound’s home basketball game against Glenwood City January 26. The Mounders won 65-35. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
“In the second half, we were able to make a few adjustments and hold their leading scorer (Schwarzenberger) to two points in the second half and well below his season average. Only giving up 13 points in the second half was outstanding effort by the entire team, especially when we didn’t shoot as well as we hoped for,” stated Hahn.
Elk Mound finished 25-for-71 shooting with eight triples. The Mounders were 7-for-10 from the foul line.
Bloomer, led by Schwarzenberger’s 12 points and nine from Jake Bleskacek, was 20-for-72 on shots with half a dozen threes and was 8-for-11 from the charity stripe.
Glenwood City
The Hilltoppers have at times this season had a difficult time putting points on the board, and such was the case when the Mounders welcomed them last Thursday, January 26.
Elk Mound jumped on Glenwood City early and often, bounding to a 37-14 lead at intermission before cruising to a 65-35 win to remain unbeaten in Dunn-St. Croix action.
“In the first half, we played hard and with a lot of energy. I thought we did a great job of moving the ball and forcing them into tough shots,”
stated Hahn.
Elk Mound sank ten three pointers in the game including six in the opening half with Russo and Bartig hitting twice from behind the arc and Knutson and Logan Jerome once each. Wenzel added all nine of his points in those first 18 minutes giving Elk Mound a 23-point advantage at the break.
Glenwood City scored just four baskets, a pair of triples and four free throws, in the first half.
The Mounder bench saw plenty of action in the second half and still managed to outgun the Hilltoppers 28 to 21 for the 65-35 win.
Russo, Bartig and Knutson each finished with 10 points to top the Mounders’ scoring. Wenzel and Jerome tallied nine apiece and Aiden Bartholomew hit a pair of second-half treys to tally six points. Russo and Jerome each corralled five rebounds and Bartholomew finished with four.
Overall, Elk Mound finished 35-for-73 from the field and 5-for-12 on free throws.
Anthony Nelson led the Hilltopper with ten points, Jayden Quinn added seven and Tyler Harrington five.
Prescott
Elk Mound trailed by just a single point, 32-31, at halftime when it visited Prescott, who is ranked 10th in the latest Division 3 state poll, Saturday, January 28.
“We came out in the first half and really played hard. We attacked them on offense and got a lot of good looks. On defense, we rebounded well and kept them out of the paint. We did a great job of defending their two best players,” said Coach Hahn.
But, in the second half the Cardinals’ leading scorers, Dallas Wallin and Jordan Malmlov took charge and helped Prescott out point Elk Mound 35 to 25 to claim a 67-56 win.
Wallin, who averages 20 points per game, finished with 28 against the Mounders while Malmlov, who scores nearly 24 points each game, finished with 11. Cardinal Brandon Stuart had 16 to aid in his team’s 11-point victory.
“In the second half, I don’t really know what happened, but we stopped playing with confidence, stopped rebounding, and let them get too many points in the paint. We just couldn’t overcome their offensive rebounds and easy looks down low,” concluded Hahn.
Three Mounders scored in double digits for the game. Russo finished with 16 points with four triples, four rebounds and four assists, Knutson had 15 points via five three pointers and Sam Wenzel added 11 points and led the team with 8 rebounds. 11 of Elk Mound’s 31 makes came from behind the three-point arc and it finished 5-for-7 on foul shots.