By Chris Bennett
Correspondent
The Elkhorn Area High School boys basketball team played its best defense of the season Jan. 2 in a 47-35 non-conference loss at Stoughton.
The Elks beat Edgerton 64-53 Dec. 22 in a non-conference game at Edgerton to close-out 2015.
Elkhorn played Waukesha Catholic Memorial (2-5) Tuesday at home in a non-conference game. The Elks play Westosha Central (5-4, 2-1 SLC) Friday in a Southern Lakes Conference game at Paddock Lake.
Suspect offense proved to be the Elks’ undoing against Stoughton (4-4).
“We played our best game defensively, by far, but struggled with our shooting and turned the ball over too much,” Elks coach Josh Skatrud said.
Skatrud said the Elks shot 31 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.
To the Elks’ credit, the game was closer than the final score indicates. Skatrud said the Elks trailed by about four points for much of the game. Stoughton accumulated its final margin late when the Elks fouled and sent the Vikings to the foul line.
Elkhorn trailed 21-19 at halftime. Stoughton outscored the Elks 26-16 in the second half.
“I’m frustrated by the loss, but happy that we looked like a decent defensive team for the first time all season,” Skatrud said. “We had our chances to win, but missed a couple of layups and some wide-open shots.”
The progress on the defensive end pleased Skatrud most, and reaffirms that the Elks are close to being a complete team.
“It feels like a broken record, but we are not that far away from playing good basketball,” Skatrud said. “We just need to find a way to put everything together.”
Alex Easterday led the Elks with 13 points against Stoughton. Dayne Fisher scored 10. Troy Slaby led Stoughton with a game-high 16 points.
Against Edgerton (2-5) the Elks led 32-18 at halftime.
