Topper boys close out regular season with losses to Luck and Elk Mound
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TOPPER junior Caleb Kling attempted this shot in the second half of Glenwood City’s conference road game in Elk Mound Thursday, February 22. Klinger finished with six points in Hilltoppers’ 82-38 loss to the Mounders. —photo by Joel DeWitt
by Joel DeWitt
Sports Correspondent
Coming down the final stretch of the 2023-24 season, the Glenwood City boys’ basketball team was looking to build momentum for the upcoming WIAA Division 5 tournament. Their first game was a non-conference match up against a struggling Luck squad, while their season finale pitted them against a strong Elk Mound team.
Both games for the Hilltoppers unfolded in similar fashion. Glenwood fell behind early and failed to contain the three-point shot as the Cardinals and Mounders drained a combined 23 shots from beyond the arc.
The Hilltoppers opened the week hosting Luck (6-18) on February 19. A 10-0 Luck run midway through the first half propelled the Cardinals to the lead and Glenwood City could not find their footing after that and fell 82-69.
Glenwood City wrapped up the conference and regular season schedule on February 22 when they traveled to Elk Mound (20-4, 12-2). The second-place Mounders overwhelmed the Hilltoppers’ defense en route to an 82-38 win.
While the Hilltoppers (10-12, 5-9) lost four of five to end the regular season, the ten wins is the most in a year since the 11 they won during the 2017-18 season.
Glenwood City looks to get back on track with their opening round matchup on February 27 when they travel to Siren. The game was not concluded in time and a recap will be available in next week’s edition.
Luck
The opening seven minutes of the game saw the Hilltoppers match Luck shot for shot. Brody Olson’s corner three pointer knotted the score at three apiece with less than a minute off the clock.
After Luck pulled ahead 8-3, back-to-back buckets by Brady Thompson and Olson cut the Cardinal advantage to one. Brody Riba’s baseline jumper, and another Olson three pointer tied things up at 12-12.
After Luck pulled ahead by two, Tyler Harrington tied it back up at 14 apiece. Unfortunately, the Cardinals pulled away after that. A 10-0 Luck run put them up 24-14 midway through the first quarter.
GLENWOOD CITY senior Morgen Eggert took this shot in the second half of the Toppers’ home non-conference game versus Luck February 19. Eggert finished with 17 points in Glenwood City 82-69 loss to the Luck Cardinals. —photo by Shawn DeWitt
The Hilltoppers were able to stabilize the defensive free fall and later countered with a 7-0 run themselves. Baskets by Thompson, Esdyn Swenby, and Morgen Eggert cut Cardinal led to four at 32-28 with a little over two minutes remaining in the half.
However, Luck scored the final six points to go into half up 38-28. The Cardinals maintained that advantage to begin the second half, until the Hilltoppers mini 6-0 run cut the lead to four once again.
Three baskets in less than a minute, one each by Harrington, Eggert and Thompson, left Luck up 44-40 with 14:30 left in the second half.
However, the Hilltoppers ran out of steam at that point. Two Luck runs, 11-2 and 10-2, over the ensuing ten minutes doomed the Hilltoppers as Luck held on for the 82-69 win.
Three Hilltoppers logged double digits on the night with Eggert putting in 17, while Harrington and Olson had 16 apiece.
Elk Mound
Like the previous game, the Hilltoppers struggled to control a hot-shooting team. Elk Mound shot 50 percent from the field, including 12 three pointers on 30 attempts. Combine that with the Mounders 33-19 rebound advantage and 23 assists, the results were devastating for Glenwood City.
A three-point basket and a short turnaround jumper in the lane by Brody Olson gave Glenwood City their only lead of the night, 5-4, with 16:40 left in the half. The rest of the half belonged to the Mounders.
The Hilltoppers managed only four field goals the reminder of the half, while Elk Mound was able to outscore Glenwood City by 30 to take the 45-15 advantage into halftime.
While Elk Mound managed the first four, second-half points, a basket by Morgan Eggert, a three pointer from Tyler Harrington, and a fast break layup by Olson brought the score to 49-22.
Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers couldn’t sustain any runs against an overpowering Mounder squad. Elk Mound put up 37 second half points to cruise to the 82-38 win.
Olson was the sole Hilltopper with in double figures on the night with 12.
GLENWOOD CITY’S Tyler Harrington made this three-point shot in a February 19 home game versus Luck. Harrington finished with three triples and 16 points. —photo by Shawn DeWitt