Elk Mound boys hang on for win over Colfax in D-SC Conference action

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by Marlys Kruger

Sports Correspondent

ELK MOUND — It wasn’t exactly a pretty game for either team but the Elk Mound boys’ basketball team played well enough to finish with a 55-49 win over the Colfax Vikings on the Mounders home court Friday, December 20.

For first-year Colfax head coach Nick Heit it was a homecoming as he graduated from Elk Mound in 2013, and ironically, ended his high school career on his home court with a regional loss to the Vikings.

Elk Mound head coach Dennis Arneson is also a first-year coach and also an Elk Mound graduate. The difference in the coaches this year is Heit is trying to get his team over .500 for the first time in many years while Arneson is building off a team that was 22-5 and won a regional championship last season. 

Elk Mound started with the jump ball in their possession for a second but a Viking steal should have led to a layup for them but the shot was missed. Victor Noller had the hot hand for Elk Mound early on as he scored their first six points on three shots under the basket for a 6-1 lead.

Colfax freshman Russell Polkoski drained back-to-back triples to put Colfax up 7-6 but a three pointer by Logan Jerome  put the Mounders back up. Cale Knutson scored on a put back for a 11-7 Mounder advantage but Polkoski hit a jumper to get the Vikings within two points.

Knutson scored on a drive through the lane but it was time for Aiden Fischer, the Viking’s leading scorer to get things going. He started with a fast break layup then drained a three-point shot, and after Zeb Robinson nailed a triple for the Mounders, Fischer knocked down two free throws to knot the score at 16-16.

Fischer wasn’t done yet as he took the ball after a Viking steal and drove in for a layup. Noller countered with yet another shot in the paint but Fischer scored on a spinning drive to the hoop to put his team up 20-18.

It appeared to be  Noller’s night as he scored the next two buckets for the Mounders while Charlie Charbonneau added a Viking free toss. After Jerome scored from close range, Noller drilled his first triple of the year for a 27-21 lead.

Theo Hovde broke the streak with a shot in the lane but Jerome canned a trey for a 30-23 Mounder advantage. Colfax kept fighting back with Orion Nichols dropping in a bucket while Charbonneau scored on a drive to cut the Mounder lead to 30-27.

Kameron Diermeier scored his first points with a free toss and Jerome scored from close range while the Vikings offense struggled, coming up empty on four possessions on two turnovers and two missed shots from the lane. With 30 seconds left in the half, the Mounders went for the final shot, but Fischer came out of nowhere for a swipe and an end-to-end layup and the half ended with the Mounders ahead 33-29.

The second half began with some sloppy play on both teams with plenty of turnovers and a bunch of shots that were off the mark before Jerome finally found the hoop from long range. Fischer dropped in a deuce but Jerome had the hot hand this half as he drilled another long ball, and after a Colfax turnover, Knutson scored on a layup and suddenly it was a 10-point Mounder lead at 41-31.

Noller found the basket again and Fischer countered with another two points, followed by a Polkoski bucket. Diermeier dropped in a free throw before Polkoski banged home a triple. 

Elk Mound’s Brody Niven got into the scoring action with a deuce and Jerome scored from the paint and added a free throw to open up a 49-38 lead. Jerome committed his fourth foul, sending Polkoski to the line where he hit both freebies, but Noller, who had been doubled team most of the second half found an opening for another bucket. 

The Vikings battled back by using a nine-point run to get within two points. Hovde started the streak with a drive to the basket, Nichols scored on a jumper, Fischer connected on a three pointer, then scored in the paint and suddenly it was just 51-49 for the Mounders with around three minutes left.

Diermeier came up with his biggest shot of the game from close range to make it a four-point lead and the Mounders just needed to keep the ball and force Colfax to foul. That’s exactly what happened and Noller went to the charity stripe and calmly hit two free throws. Colfax had several chances to score in the last 30 seconds but were off the mark on three attempts from behind the arc. 

Although the Vikings lost the contest, Coach Heit saw a lot of positives for his team. 

“I was really proud of how our team played tonight,” he commented. “We were a couple of bounces away from the score going the other way.”

Fischer was high scorer for the game, hitting his average of 23 points while Polkoski was over his average finishing with 15 points. The Vikings drained five triples and were 6-for-9 at the charity stripe.

Noller led the Mounders with 21 points, well over his average of 10.8 ppg while Jerome tacked on 19 points. The team finished with six shots from behind the arc and were 5-for-8 at the free throw line.

Elk Mound (2-0, 4-1) will welcome Altoona this Friday, December 27 for an out-of-league tilt.

Colfax (1-2, 1-5) travels to Augusta next Monday, December 30 for a non-conference game.