River Falls Boys-63, Medford-46 (Tuesday, Dec, 31 at River Falls)

After beating D.C. Everest 47-40 in the River Falls Holiday Classic on Monday, the Wildcats were staked to a 30-12 over Medford the next day when junior Austin Stellrecht grabbed a long rebound at the top of the key, dribbled the length of the court, and rattled home a dunk with 3:39 left in the first half.

Raider Head Coach Ryan Brown called a timeout and could be heard asking his team, “How can those guys keep doing the same thing every time down the court and you can’t stop them?”

The Raiders answered their coach’s question, albeit briefly. In the next six minutes of game action, the Raiders cut the 18-point Wildcat lead to six points with 15:14 remaining in the second half. That’s when junior Tanner Bottolfson and sophomore Cullen Johnson drained a barrage of threes and the Wildcats never looked back, cruising to a 63-46 victory.

“Cullen gave us some really good minutes,” said River Falls Head Coach Zach Turpin. “It was a nice opportunity to build some depth today.”

Before Tuesday’s game, the sophomore guard was just 1 of 3 from the floor on the young season. After Johnson’s second three-pointer in the span of a few minutes, he electrified the crowd and his team with an emphatic fist pump and a huge smile at half court.  

“I was just happy I got an opportunity to go out and play with my guys,” said Johnson. “I’ve been working hard in practice and I’m glad for the opportunity.”

“I thought Austin (Stellrecht) played a really good game today, too,” said Turpin.

Stellrecht finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Wildcat junior Brody Graetz had a team-high 15 points, including 3 of 6 from three-point range. Graetz added five assists and five steals. Tanner Bottolfson finished with 10 points. Eli Johnson had a game-high eight rebounds.

“You can’t coach strong,” said Turpin about the 6’7” 240-pounder Eli Johnson’s play down in the post.

(Boys) Durand-Arkansaw- 60, Prescott- 47 (Friday, Jan. 3 at Durand)

Prescott senior Teddy Bernick and the Cardinals were flying high early as they started the game on an 8-0 run. Bernick had nine points at the half and the Cardinals took a 28-21 lead into the locker room.

The second half was a different story.

“We really struggled,” said Prescott Head Coach Nick Johnson. “Way too many turnovers and we went ice cold from the floor. We settled for outside shots and when they didn’t fall, we had no answer.”

The Cardinals shot 30% from the floor and tallied 18 turnovers for the game. Bernick led the Cardinals in the scoring department with 14, including 4 of 8 from behind the arc. Junior Kobe Russell finished with 12 points.

(Girls) River Falls- 75, New Richmond-51 (Friday, Jan. 3 at River Falls)

The Wildcats were blistering the nets from every corner of the shot sheet shooting 54% from three-point range against conference-foe New Richmond. Junior Addy Timm was 5 for 10 from three, finishing with a team-high 15 points. Five Wildcats finished in double figures for Head Coach Ian Sticht’s squad.

“We also have been shooting the ball more in practice the last week,” said Sticht. “So hopefully that is something that continues as we move forward.”

Freshmen Kylie Schaefer and Rylan Sticht finished with career-highs to date with 13 and 11 points, respectively. Junior Abigail Treichel battled down low for 14 points of her own, while senior Kaelin “The Jolly Rancher” Jalowitz scored 14 points in just 19 minutes of action. According to Sticht, senior Maddie Vitt made the difference in the game.

“She (Vitt) really played a great game. Her pressure and intensity on defense really impacted the game and helped us get some energy early in the game,” Coach Sticht said.

Vitt finished with 11 assists, seven deflections, and three steals on the night.

Treichel notched her sixth double-double of the season. Treichel is averaging just under 11 rebounds per game, good for 13^th in the state (Division 2).

(Boys) River Falls- 71, New Richmond- 52 (Friday, Jan. 3 at River Falls)

Junior Brody Graetz continued his torrid pace, finishing with a game-high 20 points on 8 for 17 shooting including 4 of 9 from behind the arc. Graetz is shooting 40% from three-point land on the season. “The Big Three,” including Graetz and seniors Eli Johnson and Preston Johnson led the Wildcats again scoring 46 of the team’s 71 points, 13 of the 27 rebounds, 13 of the 21 assists, and nine of the team’s 12 steals.

The Wildcats shot 41% as a team from three-point land and forced 22 Tiger turnovers.