ELMWOOD — A long-awaited return, a matchup between two of the area’s best and a conference rivalry game were all on the table when the Spring Valley boys basketball team took down Elmwood/Plum City at Elmwood on Jan. 28 69-34.

Coming off a game the night before, the Cardinals had every reason to come out to a slow start against their rivals’ house, but the opposite was the case.

“I think it shows a lot of senior leadership. We play a lot of seniors,” Spring Valley Head Coach Rob Bosshart said. “It shows a real mature team that has experience.”

Spring Valley left no doubt in the minds of the fans, coming out of the gates with a 15-2 lead in an instant. Cade Stasiek, Elijah Haug and Trevor Forster each nailed threes and Stasiek added an and-one with 11 minutes still to play in the first half.

Spring Valley is a team that prides itself on inside scoring, but when they have space on the outside, the Cardinals can get it done from deep too.

“It’s really big because they came out and played a 2-3 zone and really packed it in against Masyn [Wolf] and Caleb [Bartko], kind of daring us or challenging us to make some threes,” Bosshart said. “I was really happy with the way that the guards, the perimeter players, were able to step up and do that. And we missed our share of them too, but they feel comfortable and so do I.”

Spring Valley cashed in on nine of 23 attempts from deep on the night. Bosshart said the balance of outside and inside will be important in the playoffs for whatever defense is thrown at them.

A few minutes down the line came an emotional moment for the team and the community as senior Tanner Dicus checked into the game for the first time since his sophomore season after a knee injury saw multiple setbacks.

“Everybody in our community has been pulling for him,” Bosshart said. “He’s had some setbacks along the way. We thought maybe we would get him last year, it didn’t work out. We thought we might have him at the beginning of this year, it didn’t work out. So, I think everybody just wanted to kind of embrace him and say welcome back Tanner. We’re really excited for what he can bring to the table, but even more than that, we’re excited for him to have an opportunity to get out and play.”

Dicus entered to a standing ovation from the fans that made the trip. It did not take long for Dicus to get involved, driving into the paint, stepping back and drilling a free throw line jumper to give his team a 28-4 lead with seven minutes to play in the half.

Once more, Cardinal nation rose to their feet for a standing ovation. There was no secret of the amount of love and respect Dicus’ teammates have for him as they could not wait any longer to embrace him when a timeout was called.

“Very special. I’ve been playing with these guys since I was a little boy,” Dicus said. “Just feels good to be back after two years.”

Dicus finished the night with seven points on 3-5 shooting as he looks to work himself back into a significant role on an already rock-solid Spring Valley roster.

“This team is really special. We’ve been winning a lot and we just have a strong bond,” Dicus said. “Hoping, coming back, I can help us win some more games and make a run for it.”

Despite the moment, the game must go on. A Stasiek buzzer-beating deep three from the left wing got Spring Valley to a 39-14 lead at the half that would hold to the final horn in a 69-34 win.

Stasiek is often given tall tasks from Bosshart, and this game was no different. He was asked to be the primary ball-handler offensively while guarding one of the area’s best in senior Lucas Glaus who averages 24 a night. Glaus can get it done both inside and from deep, but Stasiek did not allow the lights out shooter to attempt a single three on the game. He was held to a season-low 12 points on 5-11 shooting.

The Cardinals knew slowing down Glaus was going to be both a key and a tall task, and they got the job done.

“Over the years, one thing I’ve learned mostly about Cade is he plays his best when you challenge him, and there’s no bigger challenge in our conference than guarding Lucas Glaus,” Bosshart said. “[Glaus] is really a great player. He’s one of the best players we’ve had in our league in a long, long time.”

Bosshart gave credit to Glaus’ unselfishness, passing out of double teams Spring Valley was forced to throw at him to make the right play at all times.

Stasiek finished with 24 points on the game followed by Wolf with 14. The Cardinals are 12-3 on the year and lead the Dunn-St. Croix Conference with a 7-1 record. EPC is 4-10 on the year with a 1-7 conference record.