By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School boys basketball team struggled on offense in recent games, and paid for it in losses.
Elkhorn lost 57-37 Feb. 13 at Lake Geneva Badger and 52-20 to Waterford Feb. 10 at Waterford, both in Southern Lakes Conference games.
In the Elks’ defense, winning on the road is tough in the SLC. Road trips, though, seem to be the least of the Elks’ concerns.
“I think, right now, I am most concerned with finding a way to consistently generate some offense,” Skatrud said. “We have way too many instances where we are not getting consistent production from game to game.
“It is my job to find a way to put guys in position to succeed, so we will get back to work this week and hopefully find a way to get back on track with a couple wins.”
The Elks played Williams Bay (10-8) Tuesday at home in a non-conference game, and play Delavan-Darien Friday at Delavan (5-13, 2-10 SLC) in a SLC game.
Against Badger (12-6, 10-2 SLC), Skatrud said the Badgers shot the ball well, but the Elks trailed by just seven points before Lake Geneva hit a three-point field goal at the halftime buzzer.
Badger outscored the Elks 17-8 in the first quarter and led 29-19 at halftime.
“They gave us an opportunity to get back in the game early in the second half, but we committed several turnovers and were never able to get back in it,” Skatrud said.
Badger outscored the Elks 20-5 in the third quarter and led 49-21 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Elkhorn outscored the Badgers 14-8 in the fourth quarter.
Dayne Fisher led the Elks with 11 points. Cody Johnson scored nine. Badger’s Jake Berhorst led all scorers with 20 points, and Lincoln Wieseman added 15.
Waterford (13-7, 9-3 SLC) led Elkhorn 21-18 at halftime. The Elks outscored the Wolverines 10-9 in the third quarter, and trailed 30-28 at the start of the fourth quarter.
“Against Waterford, it was a very tight game until we hit a stretch where we fouled several times,” Skatrud said. “They were able to make some free throws and hit a couple big shots down the stretch.”
Waterford outscored the Elks 20-12 in the fourth quarter. Alex Easterday led the Elks with 12 points and Konopski scored 10. Waterford’s Chris Saltzmann led all scorers with a game-high 28 points.
Elkhorn closes its regular season Feb. 26 at Wilmot in a SLC game before starting play in the WIAA Division 2 postseason playoffs. A few games are left for the Elks to find their groove.
“There is no doubt we have the ability to play some good basketball, but it just has not been something we have done on a game-to-game basis,” Skatrud said.
