Elkton-Lake Benton: Midseason Review

<p>This unique co-op is made up of a South Dakota school (Elkton) and a Minnesota school (Lake Benton). The Elks are having a nice season and they have talented players. Elkton-Lake Benton is in Region 2A and they are 8-4 so far on the year. Look below for player stats, comments from coach Erickson, and the updated Elks schedule.</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Player Stats</strong></span></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"] (2023) |6-1 F| </strong>- 13.8 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.2 apg</p> <p><strong>Miles Harming (2022) |6-2 G| </strong>- 11.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 2.8 apg</p> <p><strong>Aiden Erickson (2022) |5-9 G| </strong>- 11.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.5 apg</p> <p><strong>Logan Kuehl (2022) |5-11 G| </strong>- 8.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.2 apg</p> <p><strong>Isaac Jaacks (2022) |6-3 F| </strong>- 4.8 ppg, 2 apg, 1.9 apg</p> <p><strong>Riley Hunter (2022) |5-10 G| </strong>- 3.8 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.9 apg</p> <p><strong>Lane Thompson (2022) |6-0 F| </strong>- 3.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .5 apg</p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Q &amp; A with coach <em>Steve Erickson</em></strong></span></h4> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What has been the highlight of the season so far?</span></p> <p>"<em>Obviously, being 8-4 right now, we have won some games and in our four losses, (6, 6, 5, and 7 pts) we had chances late in all of those games to maybe turn those into wins as well, so proud of our kids for continuing to battle and work hard no matter the opponent and no matter the situation, they don’t quit and they keep competing.</em>"</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What are your goals for the rest of the season?</span></p> <p>"<em>The biggest thing for us the rest of the season will be to continue developing some consistency on both ends of the floor. We just need to be consistent offensively and move the basketball, working for good shots through our offense instead of settling. On the defensive side, we just need to play at a high level and compete each possession. We have done these things well at times this year, just making them a consistent part of what we do is a work in progress.</em>"</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Which players are most improved and why?</span></p> <p>"<em>Honestly, and I realize this probably sounds like a cop-out, but I think all of our guys have taken strides and improved themselves in areas throughout the season. We still have plenty of things we can work on and continue to improve on, but they work hard and are a great group to work with.</em>"</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Who have been your top players defensively?</span></p> <p>"<em>When we are connected and locked in, we can play pretty good team defense. <strong>Miles Harming</strong> usually is tasked with guarding the other team’s best player and has done a tremendous job all season. <strong>Aiden Erickson</strong> is just smart about things on the defensive end, he is in the right spot for gap/help and really solidifies what we do as a team concept. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"]</strong> plays bigger than his 6’1 size, but he can guard about any position on the floor and has made strides as a better 1 v 1 defender.</em>"</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What has been your team’s identity so far?</span></p> <p>"<em>We really try to make defense our calling card. In the games we have lost, that is where some of the breakdowns have come, but it has been against good opponents and tough guys to guard, so we are learning and making ourselves better from those situations. We can diversify our offense and where we go to get some hoops at times, so teams can’t really key on one particular guy when guarding us.</em>"</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Team Notes</span></p> <p>"<em>Our Seniors, <strong>Aiden</strong>, <strong>Miles</strong>, <strong>Logan Kuehl</strong>, <strong>Lane Thompson</strong>, <strong>Riley Hunter</strong>, <strong>Isaac Jaacks</strong> along with Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1377689" first="Ryan" last="Krog"]</strong> have made up the most of our rotation, with some younger guys at times, but our seniors, I think have been great leaders and setting the tone for our team.  They work hard every day and really understand what we are trying to do, so it is fun to see them lead and work for their goals and to make themselves and their teammates better each day.</em>"</p> <h4><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Elks Schedule</strong></span></h4> <p><strong>Castlewood</strong> - W 69-67</p> <p><strong>Lake Preston </strong>- W 65-27</p> <p><strong>Redfield </strong>- W 68-31</p> <p><strong>Madison </strong>- L 50-56</p> <p><strong>Esteline-Hendricks </strong>- W 48-46</p> <p><strong>Canton </strong>- L 55-61</p> <p><strong>Dell Rapids St. Mary </strong>- W 45-39</p> <p><strong>Arlington </strong>- L 60-67</p> <p><strong>Colman-Egan </strong>- W 62-38</p> <p><strong>Hills-Beaver Creek (MN) </strong>- W 63-51</p> <p><strong>Dell Rapids</strong> - L 57-62</p> <p><strong>Oldham-Ramona-Rutland</strong> - W 47-36</p> <p>February 1 (home) vs. <strong>Deuel</strong></p> <p>February 3 @ <strong>De Smet</strong></p> <p>February 5 @ <strong>Milbank</strong></p> <p>February 10 (home) vs. <strong>Sioux Falls Lutheran</strong></p> <p>February 12 @ <strong>Garretson</strong></p> <p>February 14 (home) vs. <strong>Baltic</strong></p> <p>February 17 @ <strong>Deubrook Area</strong></p> <p>February 25 (home) vs. <strong>Hanson</strong></p>