Norse drop two of three in DC play

The Whitehall boys basketball team began last week in a tie for first place in the Dairyland Conference-Large Division, but two losses made a conference title look unlikely.

The first loss came against the team the Norse were tied with, defending DC-Large champions Osseo-Fairchild. The Thunder went on a run in the second half and pulled away for a 69-55 win last Tuesday. Whitehall’s struggles continued with a 67-57 loss to Alma Center Lincoln on Thursday before the team broke through with a win over Melrose-Mindoro on Friday.

Whitehall sat at 15-6 overall and 13-4 in Dairyland Conference play before Tuesday’s game at Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran. Whitehall will play at home against Cochrane-Fountain City on Friday then close out the regular season with a game at AC Lincoln next Monday. 

O-F 69 Whitehall 55

A 9-0 second half run was too much for the Norse to overcome.

Whitehall trailed by five at halftime, but cut the Thunder lead to two early in the second half. The Thunder responded with nine straight points, including two three-pointers by Drake Vojtik. 

The Norse cut into the lead a few times. A Bo Killian three-pointer brought Whitehall within seven with 4:34 remaining in the game, but the Thunder scored the next four points. Whitehall was within seven with about two minutes remaining, but O-F scored seven of the next eight points, including a three-pointer by Brooks Koxlien that gave O-F a 66-53 lead with one minute remaining.

Whitehall struggled offensively, shooting 40.8%, including a five-for-19 mark on three-pointers. The Norse also committed 19 turnovers, nine more than O-F in the game.

Killian’s 14 points led Whitehall while Riley Herman finished with 11.

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Youngbauer 3/8-2/3-5-3-9 Evans 3/7-0/0-4-3-6 Christianson 0/1-0/0-1-0-0 Stevens 1/1-0/0-0-1-2 Przybylla 0/0-0/1-5-3-0 Platteter 1/7-4/6-3-1-6 Steig 3/4-0/0-3-1-7 Killian 5/17-1/2-6-4-14 Herman 4/4-3/6-5-2-11

ACL  67 Whitehall 57

The Norse couldn’t recover from a slow start as the team fell behind by double digits early. 

The Hornets took a 19-8 lead less than halfway through the first half. Whitehall pulled within eight with less than a minute to go in the first half, but ACL scored on its final possession to head into the intermission ahead 36-26.

Whitehall rallied early in the second half as a three-pointer by Killian brought the team within two at 40-38, but ACL scored the next 13 points as Whitehall couldn’t get shots to fall.

Killian led Whitehall with 19 points, but was the only player to score more than 10.

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Pronschinske 1/2-0/0-0-0-3 Youngbauer 3/11-0/0-4-3-8 Semb 0/0-0/0-1-0-0 Evans 1/7-0/0-1-1-2 Stevens 2/3-1/1-0-3-5 Przybylla 1/3-0/0-3-2-2 Platteter 2/10-1/2-4-4-6 Steig 3/7-0/0-6-1-9 Killian 7/19-2/2-4-4-19 Herman 1/3-1/2-5-4-3

Whitehall 63 Mel-Min 55

The Norse took a big lead early then had to hold on for a close win. 

Killian hit three three-pointers early in the game as Whitehall opened with an 18-3 run, but the Mustangs battled back. Mel-Min scored the next nine points, though Whitehall still took a 26-14 advantage into halftime.

The Mustangs got going offensively in the second half, scoring 23 points in the first eight minutes to pull within three at 35-32. 

The teams exchanged three-pointers with Whitehall getting shots from Deacon Steig and Youngbauer, which put the team ahead 41-35. Mason Przybylla scored and Killian hit a three to put the Norse ahead by 11 with less than 10 minutes remaining.

The Mustangs got back within six late, but the Norse held them off for the win.

Killian scored 18 to lead Whitehall while Youngbauer finished with 12 and Aiden Evans scored 11.

Whitehall (field goals/attempts-free throws/attempts-rebounds-fouls-points) — Youngbauer 2/5-6/6-4-3-12 Evans 4/6-3/6-4-1-11 Stevens 0/1-0/0-0-0-0 Przybylla 2/3-1/2-4-0-5 Platteter 1/5-2/4-2-0-5 Steig 2/9-1/2-1-0-7 Killian 5/12-3/4-6-2-18 Herman 1/4-3/6-7-5-5