Mid Season Boys Basketball Report
The ILHS boys varsity basketball team has a schedule comprised of 20 regular-season games this year and heading into a difficult week with three road games in four days the team has a 5-4 overall record and a 2-3 Dairyland conference record. That latter record puts them in a tie for 3rd place with Blair-Taylor in the Dairyland-Small, based on conference record. The Lancers’ 5-4 total win-loss mark, however, would put Immanuel two games ahead of the 3-6 Wildcats in a theoretical tiebreaker.
In the first nine games of the year Immanuel thrived at home. Making their way to a 3-1 start on their home floor, the Lancers had their three home wins come by an average margin of almost 12 points, helped in part by a 22-point divide in the final score of the victory against Independence. The lone loss in Eau Claire came to a state-ranked (#7) team and a division up (D4) against Cochrane-Fountain City. Tom Williams’ team played solidly in the loss, giving the undefeated Pirates their second-closest game of the year. It was encouraging to see the Lancers hang with such a formidable foe and have their defensive schemes stifle an offense that was so potent coming into the game. The Pirates averaged over 73 points a game coming into January 20th’s contest, but the home squad, led by Jonathan Gamble (who is the Lancers unofficial defensive leader), held C-FC to their season low point total of 53.
Contrasted with all of the success inside their fieldhouse, however, came some struggles on the road. While a 2-3 road record in a tough Dairyland Conference is nothing to panic about, Immanuel noticeably played better when a bus ride didn’t precede their game. The two wins came over Gilmanton (59-53) and New Auburn (48-29), who are largely depleted in their scoring production from seniors lost to graduation last year. The victories are nothing to take for granted, though, as Gilmanton kept pace with ILHS throughout their game, while New Auburn took advantage of them in the first half of January 13th’s matchup before the Lancers pulled away with a 28-8 second-half score. The losses on the road came by an average margin of over 20 points and those three teams (Spring Valley, Alma/Pepin, Alma Center Lincoln) put up the three highest point totals allowed by the Immanuel defense all year. Huge runs in both the A/P and ACL games doomed the Lancers, while another D4 state-ranked team in Spring Valley (#8) handled Immanuel in an impressive showing by the Cardinals.
Those road losses present a key statistic for the team; they are 5-1 when they give up less than 58 points. They are a strong team who will have the greatest chance to win when they can give opponents fits in their half-court offensive sets. The Lancers only have two players averaging double-digit scoring in Jordan Rutz (11.4 ppg) and Henry Lau (9.9 ppg, but close enough) and have relied on a balanced scoring attack each time out this year. There won’t be a 20-ppg player that this team can rely on to pull them ahead of a team, but the defensive statistics speak for themselves as they currently have the second best points-allowed-per-game mark at 51. They only trail, of course, the C-FC Pirates who give up an average of approximately 45.58 points per game.
Key games in the second half of the season are the two meetings with Blair-Taylor at the very end of the season (2/17 and 2/23) and a home contest against the Dairyland-Small-leading Alma/Pepin Eagles on February 3rd. Those three games will be arguably the most pivotal dates on ILHS’ schedule, as they figure to be the most influential on the the upper part of the Dairyland-Small standings. It will also be important for Immanuel to take care of business against Gilmanton (home, 2/14) and Independence (road, 2/11) whom they already have gotten the best of. They also face a team they beat handedly last year, Whitehall, at home on the 31st of January. Hopefully the Lancers can steal a game or two on the road from Augusta (1/24) and/or Melrose-Mindoro (1/26), only two days apart.
Immanuel’s non-conference schedule finishes up with Elmwood/Plum City on the road on 1/23 and a home game against Stevens Point Pacelli, Saturday February 11th. Last year, Immanuel won 63-51 and lost 53-64 to those teams, respectively.