Cardinal boys top Thunder, fall to Gilmanton in hard-fought match
by Doug Sands, student writer
The Eleva-Strum boys basketball team made a mark on each side of its early season record this week, topping Osseo-Fairchild and falling to Gilmanton last week.
Competing against Gilmanton on Thursday, Dec. 4, the game marked the first time last year’s Small Dairyland Conference co-champs had faced each other this season as the Cards kicked off their conference slate with a fast-paced game.
E-S took to the court with high intensity, but the Panthers were ready to receive them. They clashed heavily, exchanging blows throughout the first quarter. The teams fought to find a weakness in their opponents with neither coming out ahead. Gilmanton managed a single-point lead on the Cardinals during the second quarter, making the halftime score 27-26. Coming into the third, Eleva-Strum slipped. The Panthers took advantage, widening the division to three points by the end of third. Those three points turned out to be the insurmountable wall that the Cardinals couldn’t overcome. Eleva-Strum fell further behind, and the Panthers claimed the game 59-53.
Caleub Watkins led all scorers with a game-high 18 points, shooting 4-for-7 from 3-point land and sinking four of his five attempts from the charity stripe. The senior point guard also added five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Mathew Higley followed with 15 points and five rebounds while senior Gage Everson also contributed with eight points, five rebounds and four assists.
Earlier in the week, E-S also faced off with the Osseo-Fairchild Thunder for a non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 1.
The Cards hammered out an impressive game, topping the Thunder by a wide margin, 64-42.
Eleva-Strum got a slow start as the Thunder held them in check the first quarter, but the Cards shook loose in the second, slamming into their opponents to build a 37-22 score by halftime. The Thunder stepped up their game coming out of the half. They kept pace with Eleva-Strum, shedding a point from their deficit. But the Cardinals pulled out the stops in the final quarter, finishing with an 18-point lead over O-F.
Watkins led the Cards once again with another game-high effort, scoring 23 points with five made 3-pointers to go with seven steals, four rebounds and four assists. Everson added 14 points and five rebounds for E-S while fellow senior Kelton Olson had 12 points and four assists in the winning effort.
The Cardinals will host Eau Claire Immanuel in their lone game of the week on Friday, Dec. 12.
