The River Falls Wildcats boys’ basketball team defeated the Hudson Raiders on Friday night in Hudson by a score of 68-38.

It was a big victory for the Wildcats beating last year’s Big Rivers Conference champion on their home court by such a large margin.

The defense got things going early with steals by Preston Johnson and Hayden Bottolfson and a block by Eli Johnson which set the offense up with the opportunity to stake a commanding lead. They did just that behind back-to-back three-pointers by Brayden Graetz and another by Joey Butz, and they went into the half up by double digits.

The second half was more of the same as the Wildcats kept their foot on the gas throughout and would win by 30.

The Hudson Raiders were 13-1 in the conference last season, so beating them to keep their BRC record at a perfect 2-0 is huge for the Wildcats early in the season.

River Falls performed well in all areas of the game garnering 28 rebounds, 13 assists, nine steals and three blocks. They converted on an impressive 51% of their field goal attempts, 42% of their 3’s and 100% of their free throws.

Head Coach Zac Campbell says that while they are happy with their overall performance last week, they still have a lot of work to do in developing consistency over time.

“Basketball season is a grind, and we are very much in the early stages. Having four returning starters, we expect those guys to be ahead of the curve as the season begins but for us to grow as a team as the season progresses. We need each individual to be great in their role for us to be the best we can be, and we need to string consistent practices together. What we've been able to do in games is not reflected consistently in practices and will eventually catch up with us,” Campbell said. “We are still game to game right now, and our schedule challenges us. There are truly no games we can just walk into and win. If we are able to develop consistency, we will then be able to look at what we could become by season’s end.”

Coach Campbell notes that away games are always difficult, let alone starting with four of them in a row. They will look to finish out that tough road slate on Tuesday at Mahtomedi against the Zephyrs before returning home to face the Eau Claire Memorial Old Abes, who are offensively and athletically very talented. He says that their discipline and attention to detail will have to be at its best on Friday to keep pace with them.

The Wildcats’ non-conference match against the Zephyrs will begin on Tuesday at 7 p.m., and then they will return home to face a divisional opponent in the Old Abes on Friday at 7:15 p.m. The Abes are also a perfect 2-0 on the season in BRC play, so this home game represents a big opportunity for River Falls to make a statement in the conference.

Dunn-St. Croix: EPC Wolves

The Elmwood-Plum City Wolves lost to the Glenwood City Hilltoppers in Glenwood City on Thursday night by a score of 60-53 and beat the Clear Lake Warriors 66-51 on Saturday in Menomonie.

The Wolves are off to a good start this season at 2-2, although they are 0-1 in Dunn-St. Croix competition, which began this week.

Lucas Glaus was the player of the week scoring 40 points while hitting 18-19 of his free throw attempts, sinking 38% of his three-pointers and pulling in 15 rebounds. This performance was closely followed by Blake Allen who scored 29 points, sunk 75% of his free throws and 66% of his three-point attempts while garnering 11 rebounds and leading the team in steals (7) and assists (6).

Head Coach Kyle Webb says the loss to Glenwood City was an especially tough one.

“Honestly, that could have been a win for us. It was a game that challenged our mental toughness, and I believe we came out better after it,” Webb said. “I feel like we are sitting in a good place right now. Our team is starting to click, and our guys are playing really good defense.” 

Webb says that keeping up this high-level of play is the task they’ve set for themselves.

“Maintaining this success is going to be a challenge, but if we continue to play as a team, we can get open looks for our guys,” Webb said. “One thing we are working on is everyone’s role within the team. We are finding our leaders and learning who excels at what role, so we can continue to improve on that as well.”

Next up for Elmwood-Plum City is a two-game week against Dunn-St. Croix rivals. On Tuesday, they travel to Mondovi where they play the Buffaloes before returning home on Friday to play the Durand-Arkansaw Panthers. Tip off for both of those games is 7:15 p.m.

Dunn-St. Croix: Spring Valley

The Spring Valley Cardinals played three games this week, beating Alma-Pepin 58-43 on Tuesday in Alma and beating Boyceville 47-27 at home on Thursday before losing to Unity 48-42 at UW-Stout on Saturday.

It was nothing short of a great week at the office for the Cardinals as they went 2-1 with a +29 point differential over three games and beat their lone divisional opponent by 20 points.

Cade Stasiek continues to impress being the overall leader in most categories this week, but individual performances by Masyn Wolf, Jameson Bauer and Kaden Robelia also figured prominently in the Cardinals’ success.

Over this three-game stretch, their field goal percentage (39) and three-point percentage (28) aren’t quite as good as they would’ve liked, but their 71% on free throw attempts is very respectable. They also averaged over 30 rebounds and seven steals per game.

Head Coach Rob Bosshart says they are seeing the progress they’ve made as a team start to bear fruit.

“I feel like we're starting to figure things out a little more on both ends of the court. Our defense has been pretty solid the last couple of weeks, but I know that we're going to continue to get tested by different schemes and styles of play,” Bosshart said. “The kids take a lot of pride in how we defend and know that in order to be successful we will have to work hard on each defensive possession. Our energy on the defensive end will lead to more success on offense.”

Bosshart notes that they have not shot the ball as well as they want to, but he feels like they've been getting good shots and that they're not that far away from where they want to be. He says the team is looking forward to playing a couple of conference games this week after playing a good non-conference schedule so far.

Those Dunn-St. Croix Conference games include a homestand against the Glenwood City Hilltoppers and a road match against the Colfax Vikings. Tip off for those games is at 7:15 p.m. 

Middle Border: Ellsworth

The Ellsworth Panthers lost to Amery by a score of 64-50 on Tuesday night in Amery and beat Coulee Christian-Providence 101-36.

Yes, you read that right, 101-36, but we’ll get to that in a second. At first blush, it looks like Ellsworth got beat handily by Amery on Tuesday; however, they actually outplayed them for the second half of that game.

The first period was mostly a runaway as Ellsworth was outscored 35-10. The Panthers had a 5-0 lead to start the game, the difference in score being the result of a 23-2 run by Amery over the middle part of the half. The second period was a whole different ball game though.

A good defensive block by Parker Woodland and back-to-back three-pointers by George Rohl got things moving for the Panthers. Woodland figured prominently into Ellsworth's high level of play in the second period, with defensive blocks, multiple fast breaks and even a dunk, much to the delight of the Ellsworth faithful in attendance. The Panthers outscored Amery 40-29 in the second period, and that momentum carried through to Friday.

When you win by over five-dozen, there’s obviously going to be some big performances. Woodland and Rohl each scored over 20, but there were a lot of points scored up and down the roster.

As a team, they scored 101 with 48 rebounds, 26 assists, 10 steals and three blocks. They sank 43 of their 79 attempts, went 3-5 on free throws and 12-33 on their three-point attempts.

Head Coach Derek Staley says they’re prioritizing consistency and incremental improvements.

“We are getting better. We have a young team whose focus level has not been consistent. It is going to take some time for them to gel and get comfortable playing with each other, and we are starting to see that,” Staley said. “We have also gotten healthier with Braydon Anderson and Jack Stoltenburg coming back. Hopefully we will get Noah Matzek back soon as well.”

Staley says this week will be a test for them as Ellsworth will play two good, well coached teams in the Baldwin-Woodville Blackhawks and the Somerset Spartans. He says he and the team are looking forward to it even just as a barometer for where they’re at and what they will focus on to continue those improvements. 

The Panthers host the Blackhawks on Tuesday and then travel to Somerset to play the Spartans on Thursday. Tip off for both of those games is 7 p.m.