Boys hoops teams rebounding after tough losses
Bouncing back and in some cases thriving after tough losses has been something Tri-County Area prep boys basketball teams have been doing lately.
Case in point: Fall Creek. The No. 8 ranked Crickets took on 2025 state tournament participants Mineral Point last week Friday, Jan. 16 in the Midwest Players Classic held at the La Crosse Center. FC played even with the through much of the contest but the Pointers (6-3) led by 16 points from Drew Aschliman, pulled away late to win 59-49.
So the Crickets took their medicine. Took their second loss this season and dropped one in the polls to No. 8. But they came back strong to rout Elk Mound on the road 71-49 on Tuesday, Jan. 20.
Jackson Tangley led FCHS with 17 points, eight assists; Josh Wright scored 14 points, Bryce Elkins finished with 11 points; Evan Seidling nine points and M Schmidgall scored eight points and had 10 rebounds. Schmidgall led Fall Creek (8-2) in scoring against Mineral Point with 15 points.
The current Division 4 Bound Wisconsin/Zalesky Media Poll is as follows:
1). Bonduel 12-0
2). Milwaukee Juneau 13-1
3). Marathon 11-0
4). Kewaunee 11-0
5). Lomira 12-1
6). Eau Claire Regis 9-2
7). Darlington 9-2
8). Fall Creek 7-2
9). Howards Grove 10-3
10). Hurley 11-1
Since taking their first loss to Whitehall a week ago, Osseo-Fairchild has been on a tear. The Thunder (11-1) have won three straight including wins over Independence/Gilmanton at Gilmanton last week 62-45 and a 73-52 beatdown of Blair-Taylor at home. O-F hosts Augusta on Thursday, Jan. 22 and faces one of its toughest tests this season next Tuesday, Jan. 27 hosting Fall Creek beginning at 7:15 p.m.
Eleva-Strum had lost three straight games, the capper being a 52-30 blow-out to Osseo-Fairchild back on Jan. 8. Since then the Cardinals have won twice to get back to .500, including a 55-35 win at home last week Friday, Jan. 16 over Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran (1-5). E-S (6-6) had three players in double figures led by Noah Martinson's 15 points, Afton Flynn's 12 and 10 from Calvin Barneson. Flynn had nine rebounds, Martinson eight and Barneson grabbed seven. Bo Windjue led the team in assists with four. Central will look to keep climbing this week (weather permitting) at Cochrane-Fountain City on Thursday, Jan. 22 and at home vs. Whitehall on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 7:15 p.m.
Augusta (5-6) saw its three-game winning streak snapped at Blair-Taylor last week Friday, Jan. 16. The Wildcats won 65-59 to make it over .500 as both teams were 5-5 going in. B-T won despite Owen Lee's season-best 20 points for AHS. Isac Mooney finished with 12 points for the Beavers and Bryce Buttke had nine. Mooney also had a double-double 13 rebounds plus four steals. Lee finished with six boards and Tyler Lee had six assists. The game was competitive but Augusta's 18 percent shooting from behind the three-point arc plus 22 turnovers gave the edge to the home team. Besides playing OFHS, Augusta is at Melrose-Mindoro (3-9) on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. and host Cochrane-Fountain City next Monday, Jan. 26.
Boys Basketball Standings
West Cloverbelt
Team W-L
Eau Claire Regis 5-0
Fall Creek 4-1
Stanley-Boyd 4-1
Elk Mound 4-2
Chippewa Falls McDonell 2-4
Thorp 1-4
Bloomer 1-5
Cadott 1-5
Last Week's Games
Monday, Jan. 12
Elk Mound 80, Cadott 51
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Fall Creek 52, Chippewa Falls McDonell 38
Thursday, Jan. 15
Stanley-Boyd 66, Bloomer 36
Elk Mound 67, Chippewa Falls McDonell 58
Cadott 69, Thorp 55
This Week's Games
Tuesday, Jan. 20
Bloomer 55, Cadott 52
Fall Creek 71, Elk Mound 49
Eau Claire Regis 88, Thorp 22
Stanley-Boyd 65, Chippewa Falls McDonell 48
Thursday, Jan. 22
Chippewa Falls McDonell at Fall Creek
Bloomer at Thorp
Stanley-Boyd at Eau Claire Regis
Next Week's Games
Thursday, Jan. 29
Thorp at Chippewa Falls McDonell
Fall Creek at Stanley-Boyd
Eau Claire Regis at Cadott
Elk Mound at Bloomer
Large Dairyland
Team W-L
Osseo-Fairchild 9-1
Whitehall 7-2
Eleva-Strum 5-4
Augusta 3-5
Melrose-Mindoro 2-6
Small Dairyland
Team W-L
Cochrane-Fountain City 6-2
Lincoln 6-3
Blair-Taylor 6-4
Alma/Pepin 3-6
Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 1-6
Independence/Gilmanton 0-9
Last Week's Games
Tuesday, Jan. 13
Whitehall 77, Cochrane-Fountain City 66
Eleva-Strum 62, Melrose-Mindoro 52
Osseo-Fairchild 75, Alma/Pepin 37
Blair-Taylor 77, Independence/Gilmanton 42
Lincoln 55, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 50
Friday, Jan. 16
Blair-Taylor 65, Augusta 59
Eleva-Strum 55, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 35
Osseo-Fairchild 62, Independence/Gilmanton 45
Cochrane-Fountain City 67, Lincoln 55
This Week's Games
Monday, Jan. 19
Osseo-Fairchild 73, Blair-Taylor 52
Alma/Pepin 74, Melrose-Mindoro 70
Cochrane-Fountain City 52, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 51
Thursday, Jan. 22
Eleva-Strum at Cochrane-Fountain City
Independence/Gilmanton at Melrose-Mindoro
Augusta at Osseo-Fairchild
Lincoln at Whitehall
Alma/Pepin at Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
Saturday, Jan. 24
Augusta at Melrose-Mindoro
Alma/Pepin at Cochrane-Fountain City
Independence/Gilmanton at Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran
Whitehall at Eleva-Strum
Next Week's Games
Monday, Jan. 26
Cochrane-Fountain City at Augusta
Tuesday, Jan. 27
Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran at Augusta
Melrose-Mindor at Blair-Taylor
Cochrane-Fountain City at Independence/Gilmanton
Whitehall at Alma/Pepin
Lincoln at Eleva-Strum
