HOLMEN — Holmen High School boys basketball coach Ryan Meyer is focused on stacking success as the Vikings navigate the early games of this season’s schedule.
His Vikings put him in the position to do that by opening the season with a win earlier this week over a team that qualified for last year’s WIAA Division 3 state tournament and allowed the focus to continue with a 73-48 nonconference win over Wisconsin Rapids at the Bernie L. Ferry Fieldhouse on Thursday.
Holmen did a lot of things well to win its second game in a row and gave Meyer plenty to possibly look forward to as the games progress.
“That was one game, and we wanted to continue to build on it,” Meyer said of the victory over Prescott. “We wanted our defense to be our floor, and our offense to take us to our ceiling.”
That’s what he watched unfold against the Red Raiders (0-3), who began their week with a 60-44 home loss to Onalaska on Tuesday. The Vikings (2-0) may have reversed the order and found their ceiling quickly, but they established their floor by forcing plenty of turnovers and pushing Wisconsin Rapids into difficult shots.
Holmen made four quick 3-pointers to carve out a 12-point lead as it celebrated a pace and flow it excels in. Every 3-pointer was accompanied by an assist, and senior Kaiden Wilber made a very nice play by catching a pass under the hoop and firing it before landing to an open Parker Lindberg in the left corner. Lindberg knocked down the shot for a 19-7 advantage.
“Our offense was cooking today, and that was fun,” said Wilber, who made 7 of 12 shots and scored 17 points to go with two assists and two steals. “We kept it up, too.”
The Vikings shot 50 percent from the floor and made 17 of 20 free throws. The long-range shots did stop dropping later in the first half. Free throws took over, and the Red Raiders made a run after facing the 12-point deficit.
Wisconsin Rapids twice cut Holmen’s lead to two, but a major statement to close out the first half kept the Vikings in clear control.
Holmen scored 12 of the final 13 points after the Red Raiders had pulled to within 30-28 and took plenty of momentum into halftime with its sudden 42-29 lead.
Four players scored those 12 points, and senior Keenan Eisermann had six of them with four free throws and the hoop that closed out the half. That basket was set up when junior Alex Berget, whose 3-pointer made the score 36-29, forced a turnover. The balance in production wasn’t lost on Meyer.
“That rush to the half was huge for us,” Meyer said. “We have 14 guys that, at any moment I had to play them, am comfortable with them on the floor. We’re going to try and play more guys this year and really lean on our opponent.
“If we don’t tire them out in the first half, hopefully we can do it in the second. We’re trying to get them to break, and that’s what we’re working for out there.”
Berget also scored 17 points for the Vikings, who received 14 from Lindberg and 10 from Eisermann. Sophomore Jayden Bartels had a team-high six rebounds.
That added up to a significant collective performance for a team that started the season on such a high.
“These guys are hungry,” Meyer said of the Vikings, who finished last season with a 13-13 record but won eight straight before a Division 1 regional semifinal loss at Stevens Point. “We’ve talked for a couple years with some of these guys about how we want to take this program to another level and leave their legacy.
“It’s fun to see these guys because they really want it, and I hope we can continue to build on it
