ELGIN — Missing two starters, Elgin Public-Pope John came up big when it mattered most to defeat Bloomfield 51 to 45 Saturday night in non-conference boys basketball action.
Nick Anderson and Myles Kittelson, starting in the place of Jarek Erickson and Gage Thiessen, and their teammates won the second half to earn their eighth victory of the season.
“Guys had to play different roles tonight,” Coach Matt Euse said. “The victory shows how well these guys can face adversity.”
Both team suffered through a rough first half as each side struggled to score. That all changed in the second half as both teams found their shooting touch.
After a trey by Beau Eisenhauer gave the Bees a four-point lead early in the third quarter, the Wolfpack exploded. Sandwiched in between two-point baskets by Anderson and Kittelson, sophomore Karson Kallhoff drained three consecutive treys as EPPJ took a 26 to 21 lead.
Following a trey by Mason Mackeprant, Blake Henn answered with three points to give EPPJ a 29 to 26 margin at the end of the quarter.
Kept in check up until the fourth quarter, senior Dylon Lueking came alive. He scored the Wolfpack’s first six points of the final quarter on inside moves. Henn followed with an inside basket and Kallhoff added his fourth trey of the half and the Wolfpack led 40 to 37. After Mackeprang hit two free throws to cut the lead to 40 to 39, Lueking answered with a three-point play. EPPJ then protected their lead with free throws as Kellan Hoefer hit four in a row as did Kallhoff. EPPJ was nine for nine from the line in the final quarter.
EPPJ 51, Bloomfield 45
Bees………………………8 6 12 19 — 45
Wolfpack…………………5 8 16 22 — 51
Wolfpack — Blake Henn 2-5 1-2 5, Kellan Hoefer 0-6 4-4 4, Karson Kallhoff 6-11 4-4 22, Myles Kittelson 2-5 3-4 7, Nick Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, Dylan Kolm 0-1 0-0 0, Dylon Lueking 5-13 1-4 11. Team totals: 16-43 13-20 51. Three-point shots — Wolfpack 6-20 (Karson Kallhoff 6), Bloomfield 4-15. Bloomfield team totals: 13/45 15/25 45.
Team statistics: Rebounds — Wolfpack 28 (Dylon Lueking 9, Dylan Kolm 7), Bloomfield 21. Assists — Wolfpack (Kellan Hoefer 4) Bloomfield NA. Steals — 8 (Dylon Lueking 4), Bloomfield 8. Turnovers — Wolfpack 15, Bloomfield 16.
