Loyal girls, boys defeat Rosholt
By Harry Toufar The Loyal girls and boys basketball teams closed out the 2024 portion of their schedule by going on the road and dismantling the Rosholt Hornets.
The girls were up first Dec. 30 as they squared off against a Rosholt squad with only seven girls out for the program. Rosholt’s Lia Kezeske and Addi Gagas were the only Hornets to break into the scoring column, scoring 15 and 14 points, respectively.
On the Loyal side, seniors Autumn Zvolena and Olivia NikolaioutscoredtheRosholt duobyapoint,aseachyoung lady scored 15 points. Zvolena made four 2-pointers and one 3-pointer while making 4 of 6 free throws. Nikolai made three 2-pointers while drilling three 3-pointers from beyond the arc. They, however, received ample support from their teammates. Sophomore Mallory Jakobi scored 11 points on four 2-pointers and one 3-pointer. Payten Wolf added one 3-pointer. Annika Schley made a basket and one free throw. Hanna Strey added two points to round out the scoring for the Greyhounds.
The combined scoring efforts of the team left the final score at 49-27. With the win, the Greyhounds reached the 0.500 level at 4-4. They will not play again until this Thursday, Jan. 9, when they will host a formidable foe in Owen-Withee. They then will host Edgar in a non-conference game on Jan. 13. On the 14th, they will make the short ride to Greenwood to take on the Indians.
The Loyal boys experienced similar success versus Rosholt. The team has some height on this year’s squad and Loyal boys coach Brandon DeSmet knew that he could utilize that height against a smaller Rosholt squad. Early and often, he had the ball directed toward the paint. Cain Toufar had many close looks to the hoop, with his first two coming on assists to an open Hunter Walter. Toufar scored twice before Rosholt hit a 3-pointer to trail 8-3 with 14 minutes on the clock. Two more baskets by Toufar gave the Greyhounds a nine-point lead. Rosholt was able to score a free throw before going into a deep freeze. Loyal went on a 12-0 run, starting with Reed Stieglitz hitting two free throws, courtesy of a Rosholt team technical foul for having a wrong number entered in the scorebook.
Toufar scored twice more, followed by a Stieglitz basket. Bryce Deegan got into the scoring column with a basket, giving Loyal a 16-point lead. Walter finished the run with a basket. The Hornets finally ended the scoring deep freeze with their own basket. Again, Walter made a basket plus one before Rosholt hit a 3-pointer. The deep chill set in again, as the Hornets did not score again in the first half. Meanwhile, the Hounds would add 14 more points. Deegan made three baskets, Toufar added another basket, Carson Prein scored two points, Stieglitz made a free throw and Carson Bremmer nailed one from 3-point land. Rosholt got on the board first in the second half, only to see Loyal add 11 more points. Stieglitz started the Greyhound scoring with a 3-pointer, followed by Toufar’s last basket of the afternoon. Walter followed by scoring the next six points before Rosholt added another 3-pointer. With the starters on the bench for much of the second half and a running clock in effect, Loyal added 11 more points. Bremmer added 2 points to his total, Rhett Lamovec made a basket and two free throws, Prein added two points and senior Aaron Radue added two points.
Toufar led the Greyhounds in scoring with 16 points. Walter had a standout game, scoring 13 points. Stieglitz added eight points with a 2-pointer, a 3-pointer and making three of his four free throws. Deegan added seven points. Bremmer and Prein each added five points. Lamovec and Radue rounded out the scoring, with four and two points, respectively. Rosholt scored nine points toward the end, making the final score 60-24.
Loyal improves its record to 8-0 on the season.After the holiday break, Loyal hosted Pittsville on Jan. 3 and welcomed conference opponent Columbus Catholic on Jan. 7. They will travel to Gilman on Jan. 10 for another conference game.