By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School boys basketball team needed overtime to secure its first Southern Lakes Conference victory of the season Dec. 19 at Union Grove.
The Elks defeated the Broncos 52-49 for the first SLC win in first-year head coach Josh Skatrud’s career.
“I think it was big to get that first conference win, especially after losing a couple of tough ones in a row and not really playing that well,” Skatrud said.
The Elks (3-3, 1-2 SLC) lost 59-44 Dec. 12 in a SLC game at home against Burlington and lost their SLC season opener 62-49 Dec. 9 at Westosha Central.
Skatrud said the way the Elks battled from behind against the Broncos (2-4, 0-3), the defending SLC champions, is something Elkhorn can use to build for the future.
Elkhorn outscored Union Grove 39-34 in the second half after being outscored 17-13 in the first half. The Elks led late in regulation before the Broncos hit a three-point field goal and tied the game to force overtime.
“We were down pretty much the entire game and we came back and had a really nice (second half),” Skatrud said. “We played pretty well. We got a lead.”
Skatrud said the Broncos’ missed on a three-point attempt as time expired in overtime. The Elks played better on offense in the second half.
“We finally started putting the ball in the basket is what it came down to,” Skatrud said.
Elkhorn outscored the Broncos 22-11 in the third quarter alone. The Elks also limited turnovers.
“We took care of the basketball,” Skatrud said. “We stopped turning it over. One of the big reasons we fell behind is they pressured us, and we started throwing the ball all over the place.”
Defensively, the Elks made Broncos’ 6-foot-7 center Alex VanDyke put the ball on the floor more in the second half and also rotated help inside.
Wales led the Elks with 12 points. Dayne Fisher and Shane Piasecki each scored eight.
Skatrud said forward Joe Konopski returned to the Elks’ lineup against the Broncos after missing time with an ankle sprain. Konopski added six points.
VanDyke led all scorers with a game-high 24 points. The Broncos’ Grant Beck scored 10.
Elkhorn played Clinton (2-4, 2-2 Rock Valley South) Tuesday in a non-conference game at Clinton. Eklhorn plays host to Edgerton (3-3, 2-2 Rock Valley North) Dec. 30 at home.
Edgerton beat Palmyra-Eagle 42-27 Dec. 18 in its final game before meeting the Elks.
