Mounder boys defeat SCC in overtime, hold off Mondovi Buffaloes for victory

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The Elk Mound boys’ basketball team extended its winning streak to four games with a pair of victories last week including one in overtime.

After last Tuesday’s conference home game versus Glenwood City was postponed due to sub-zero temperatures (the contest has been rescheduled for February 14), the Mounders were left with a pair of contests.

St. Croix Central (6-8) of the Middle Border Conference was in Elk Mound last Thursday, January 23 for a non-conference clash. It took overtime, but Elk Mound prevailed 70-67.

The next evening, the team traveled to Mondovi to take on the Buffaloes – the lone D-SC team without a conference win. Mondovi stayed winless as Elk Mound bound to an early double-digits lead and held on for the 71-62 win.

 St. Croix Central

It was raining threes when Elk Mound hosted St. Croix Central for a non-conference contest Thursday, January 23.

The two teams combined for a dozen triples in the first half alone – seven by the Mounders and five by the Panthers – that saw St. Croix Central take a slim 38-35 halftime lead.

Both teams continued to knock down three-pointers in the second half as regulation play ended in a 64-64 deadlock.

St. Croix Central hit its final three pointer in overtime which was the team’s final score of the contest, but Elk Mound got a two-point hoop from Logan Jerome and made four of its five free throws to claim a 70-67 win.

The Mounders, who had a trio of double-digit scorers, finished with 11 treys while the Panthers tallied ten from behind the arc. 

Elk Mound found itself down by eight at one point in the second half, but embarked on a 9-0 run to go ahead, 44-43. 

With eight minutes left, the Mounders were again trailing, this time by three, when Jerome hit a deep triple to knot the game. Brody Niven attacked the rim on the next possession to put Elk Mound ahead by two. Mounder freshman Zeb Robinson followed with a three to increase the Elk Mound advantage to five.

But, Braiden Rasmussen, who was responsible for seven of St. Croix Central’s ten triples and finished with a game-high 28 points, then buried two consecutive threes to put the visiting Panthers up by a point.

SCC’s Tanner Grinnell, who tallied 27 points in the loss, then scored on a post entry to up the Panthers’ lead to three.

After an EM time out, Robinson buried his sixth, three pointer of the game to tie the score at 64 all with under 30 seconds left. Elk Mound got a stop at the end regulation to send the contest to overtime. 

In OT, Rasmussen hit a three to start the extra frame which put SCC in front 67-64.

Senior Logan Jerome responded as he shot the gap and stole a pass for a two-handed thunder dunk that brought the home crows to their feet. With 40 seconds left, Robinson went to the line and hit both free throws to put Elk Mound in front, 68-67.
The Mounders then got a stop and Cale Knutson hit both bonus free throws to score the game’s final points in a 70-67 Mounders’ win. 

“Zeb showed some real pose on the floor tonight. He had the hot hand and we called on him for the game tying shot. He delivered,” said first-year Elk Mound head coach Dennis Arneson.

“Then in OT after a Jerome dunk, he (Robinson) went to the line and hit two clutch free throws. You have to tip your hat to a freshman to have that kind of pose.” Arneson continued.

“I was really proud of the grit our boys showed on defense down the stretch to get stops,” he added.

Robinson finished with 25 points, which included six of the team’s 11 threes, to lead Elk Mound. Seniors Cale Knutson and Logan Jerome dropped 18 and 11 points, respectively. Knutson finished with four triples and Jerome one.

Rasmussen’s 28 and Grinnell’s 27 paced the Panthers.

Both teams were nearly perfect at the line. Central finished 9-for-9 while Elk Mound hit 11-of-12.

Mondovi

Just a day later, Elk Mound started hot from the three point line when it visited Mondovi for a D-SC contest January 24.

The Mounders hit four of its five, first-half three pointers early as it jumped out to a 26-10 lead over the Buffaloes.

Mondovi, however, made a late run and cut it to 34-27 at half.

In the second half, the Buffaloes continued to charged forward as they made another run behind some hot shooting and took the lead for the first time in the game at 36-37.

Elk Mound then followed with their own 11-2 run. A Kameron Diermeier steal led to a Logan Jerome Thunder dunk that ignited the run.

Down the stretch, Mondovi cut the lead down to two points a couple times, but Elk Mound hit some shots and finished the game on the  free throw line for the 71-62 win. 

“We didn’t play our best defensively, allowing Mondovi clean looks,” noted Coach Arneson.

“Playing back-to-back nights isn’t an excuse. Those back-to-back will hopefully get us ready for regional basketball situations,” he added.

Jerome finished with 24 points to lead the Mounders. Cale Knutson tallied 12 points, Zeb Robinson had ten and Victor Noller, who had early foul trouble, netted nine.

Elk Mound had seven triples, two each by Robinson and Knutson and one each from Jerome, Brody Niven and Noller. The Mounder were also 14-for-20 at the line. 

Elk Mound improved to 4-1 in league games and 11-2 overall. It is just a half game behind D-SC leaders Spring Valley and Durand-Arkansaw who sport 5-1 conference records.

The Mounders played in Boyceville this past Monday, January 27 and will host Durand-Arkansaw this Thursday. Elk Mound beat Durand-Arkansaw 53-49 in a December 12 game played on the Panthers’ floor. Boyceville is then slated to play in Elk  Mound next Tuesday, February 4.