ONALASKA — The Holmen High School boys basketball team put together a strong finish to end a five-game losing streak to Onalaska on Thursday.
The Vikings scored nine of the last 12 points to hand the Hilltoppers a 73-68 loss and bring to an end a 17-game losing streak at John Shelton Court.
Holmen last beat Onalaska during their first matchup in the 2021-22 season and last beat the Hilltoppers in Onalaska on Feb. 1, 2008.
Junior Alex Berget scored a game-high 23 points with four 3-pointers for the Vikings (5-2, 1-0), who bounced back from a loss at Caledonia to win their MVC opener. Sophomore Jayden Bartels added 14 points and eight rebounds for Holmen, which trailed 42-33 at halftime and by 11 on three occasions in the second half.
The Vikings also helped themselves by not turning the ball over at all in the second half.
“I thought we handled their zone better in the second half,” Holmen coach Ryan Meyer said. “We were patient and got it to the middle.
“I thought Jayden Bartels did an excellent job getting us middle touches and rebounds.”
Onalaska (4-2), which suffered its second loss of the week, took its final lead after the second of two straight Broden Steiner baskets put it in front 65-64 with 3 minutes, 10 seconds remaining.
Berget hit a pull-up jumper in the lane on the next possession, and Holmen led the rest of the way.
The Hilltoppers had one more chance to tie or take the lead, but a couple of missed shots under the hoop were followed by a missed bonus free throw by Noah Chenault with his team facing a one-point deficit and 2:19 to go.
Senior Kaiden Wilber scored on a drive to the hoop and made a free throw to go with four Keenan Eisermann free throws over the final 1:14 to keep the Vikings in the lead. Wilber and Eisermann both scored 12 points and combined for 12 rebounds.
Holmen didn’t get its first lead of the second half until Jax Meyer converted on a putback, and Wilber broke free on a backdoor cut for a basket and 53-52 advantage with 8:10 on the clock.
“At halftime, we talked about toughness, and if we were going to win, it was going to take toughness to do what it takes to win,” Meyer said. “We said you can be tired, but you can’t play tired.”
Junior Ian Kowal scored 20 points, and freshman Tyler Kowal added 12 for the Hilltoppers.
