Entzminger reaches 1,000-point mark as Colfax boys bounce Boyceville, but swept by Spring Valley

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

Facing off against a pair of Dunn-St. Croix Conference teams, the Colfax boys’ basketball team won for the second time this season over the Boyceville Bulldogs, this time at home by a score of 53-43 January 30. They went on the road three days later for their second round against Spring Valley and after holding a one-point lead at halftime, lost 61-43 to the Cardinals.

The boys travel to Elk Mound this Thursday for their only contest of the week. The Vikings host Elmwood-Plum City next Tuesday, February 13. 

Boyceville

Not everyone in the stands was aware of anything unusual as the game started, but fans of Colfax guard Elijah Entzminger were well aware he needed 20 points to reach the 1,000 point mark in his career. The first time the Vikings played the Bulldogs, the game went into overtime before the Vikings pulled off a 65-62 win with Entzminger scoring exactly 20 points in the contest.

It appeared Entzminger was going to get the suspense over with quickly when he scored 10 of the Vikings first 12 points. He started with a quick three-point shot while  Eli Ralph scored underneath for a 5-2 Viking lead. Nick Olson drained a triple for Boyceville and Entzminger drilled his second trey and scored on a layup after swiping the ball to make it 10-5. 

Devin Halama was unstoppable as he scored eight straight points for Boyceville on a pair of triples and a shot in the paint for a 13-10 Bulldog advantage. Entzminger connected from the paint, but an Owen Rydel bucket and Carson Roemhild triple put the Bulldogs up 18-12. Ralph scored in the lane again and Aiden Fischer canned a shot from long range to get the Vikings a point closer. Olson put up a shot in the lane but Entzminger knotted the game at 20-20 with yet another triple. He added his 15th point of the half with a drive through the lane, and Blake Johnson came up with what was his biggest shot of the year when he drilled a three pointer well behind the circle as the buzzer went off for a 25-20 Viking halftime lead.

The Bulldogs were not going to make it easy on Entzminger as they began to cover him like a blanket most of the second half. With several seniors on both teams, they have been competing against each other since probably elementary school and they were all very competitive. Mason Yarrington upped the Viking lead to 28-20 by banging in a three-ball. Fischer scored on a Ralph assist and Ralph followed with a put back. Meanwhile, Olson scored six Bulldog points on a triple, a deuce and a free throw but the Vikings maintained a lead of 32-26.

Entzminger turned his defense into offense with a steal and a layup and Fischer scored on a put back with a free toss for a 37-28 Colfax advantage. After Caden Wold canned the first of his two triples of the half, Entzminger took off with the ball, and with a couple of defenders around him, drilled his fourth trey of the game for his 1,000 point. The game was stopped for the announcement as players and coaches from both teams along with the fans applauded. Entzminger who became the ninth player in Colfax history to reach 1,000 career points.

The rest of the Vikings took over the scoring duties with Fischer scoring on a drive and following up with a shot from long range, and Orion Nichols connected on a jumper for a 47-38 advantage. There was still some bite left in the Dogs however, as Jon Madison scored in the paint and Halama dropped in a free throw and the Viking lead was cut to 47-41 with just over two minutes left. Boyceville had just two team fouls at this point and they began committing them quickly to send Colfax to the foul line.

It was too little too late for the Bulldogs as Ralph pulled down an offensive rebound and scored, then added a free toss. Yarrington drained a couple of freebies and Ralph finished off the Colfax scoring with another free throw. Meanwhile, Boyceville was shut out after missing several shots.

Besides Entzminger’s 20 points, Fischer added 13 and Ralph 10. Colfax drilled eight triples and were 5-for-7 from the foul line. Boyceville was led by Olson with 13 points while Halama added 11. Boyceville made seven shots from long range and were 4-for-7 at the charity stripe. 

Spring Valley

As usual, the Cardinals were in first place of the conference, tied with Durand with an 8-1 record. Cade Stasiek was their leading scorer with 15-point average, but they had two more players with a double digit average. In what turned out to be a very bizarre contest, Spring Valley stunned the Vikings by pulling out to a 13-0 lead. It would have been a lot bigger had they not missed five free throws in that span.

The Vikings simply couldn’t get the ball in the net on several attempts, and with a few turnovers in the mix, it appeared it would be a long night for them. Entzminger had the difficult task of trying to shut Stasiek down while trying to score some points. Finally, with 11:33 on the clock, he drilled a three pointer to get his team on the board. Things didn’t get any easier when Fischer, their second leading scorer picked up his third foul of the contest at the 10:19 mark and spent the rest of the half riding the pines.

But things finally started bouncing the Vikings way and they began to make their move. Entzminger banged another triple, Nichols used a slick spin move for a layup, Entzminger scored on a drive to the hoop and added a free toss, then used his own spin move and hit a jumper. After Nichols canned a trey and followed with a deuce, the Vikings were down 21-18.

Entzminger was in a groove and canned another shot from long range, and when Johnson came up with his own timely triple, it was all knotted up at 24-24. A Cardinal free toss gave them the lead back but Swartz snared an offensive rebound and put the ball in the hoop just before the buzzer for a 26-25 Viking lead.

The Cardinals crashed the boards and scored on a third attempt before Entzminger dropped in a fade away jumper, and after a Spring Valley triple, Johnson once again tied it up on his shot from close range at 30-30. Entzminger put Colfax back up with a shot in the paint, but everyone knew a Rob Bosshart-coached team was going to make another run at some point. Stasiek began to heat up with a triple,and after Fischer knocked down a pair of free throws for Colfax, the Cardinals drained two more shots from behind the arc, one from Stasiek. Meanwhile, Entzminger, still trying to hold him down, committed his fourth foul and had to go to the bench.   

The Vikings went on a cold streak offensively and were unable to score on six straight possessions before Johnson dropped in a bucket. Entzminger came back in and scored from the lane but those would be his last points of the game. Fischer hit a free throw and added a deuce to make the score 49-41 for Spring Valley but a few seconds later, Entzminger was called for his fifth foul with 4:07 left. 

Spring Valley went to the charity stripe several times in those final minutes and pulled ahead 61-41. Fischer finished off the Viking scoring with a pair of free throws.

Entzminger scored 20 points to lead the Vikings and in doing so, moved into seventh place on the all-time scoring list for the Vikings. Fischer, Nichols and Johnson all finished with seven points. Colfax was 6-for-8 at the charity stripe and connected on five triples. Stasiek was high man with 21 points for the Cardinals. His team drilled six triples and were 12-for-22 at the foul line.

Colfax 1,000 point scorers
(years played and total points):

1. Ken Obermueller, 1967-1971, 1,319 pts.

2. Larry Knudson, 1964-1969, 1,308

3. Justin Wittrock, 1995-1999, 1,180 pts.

4. Ethin Kiekhafer, 2010-2014, 1,069 pts.

5. Sawyer DeMoe, 2011-2015, 1,053 pts. 

6. Ben Thompson, 2016-2019, 1,040 pts.

7. Elijah Entzminger, 2020-2024, 1,020 pts.* 

8. Lewis Mau, 2007-2011, 1,006 pts.

9. Tom Wahl, 2007-2011, 1,005 pts.

*still playing