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MAST WATER TECHNOLOGY ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Adam Larson
Fennimore senior forward commits to D1 scholarship offer from Southeast Missouri State
Adam Larson
Fennimore senior Adam Larson, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-9 forward, made his college choice official in a Twitter statement last Thursday morning when he announced his commitment to Division 1 Southeast Missouri State. Larson is averaging 24.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2.7 assists for the 6–1 Eagles in seven games as a senior.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday throughout the calendar year.

Adam Larson, Sr., F, Fennimore boys basketball
Fennimore senior Adam Larson will play Division 1 basketball next year at Southeast Missouri State.

Larson, a sweet-shooting 6-foot-9 forward, made his choice official in a Twitter statement last Thursday morning. 

“I would like to thank my family, especially my parents and grandparents for all the support throughout my high school career,” Larson wrote. “A special thanks to the Lendosky family and for everyting you’ve given me and Fennimore Basketball. You guys are an amazing family and I am so thankful you guys are in my life! Nothing would have been possible without any of them. Thank you to everyone for being my biggest fan and supporting me and for being at every high school game possible. Fennimore will always be my home and I’m so proud  of everything this town has given me. I never thought I would get to this point, but I’m so thankful I am! With that being said, after a very long and hard decision I will be committing to play for Coach Korn and Southest Missouri State University. #letsfly #doit4derek.”

Larson chose Southeast Missouri State over other offers from Division 2 Emporia State (Emporia, Kan.), Truman State (Kirksville, Miss.) and Southwest Minnesota State (Marshall, Minn.), and NAIA Morningside College (Sioux City, Iowa).

Larson had other Division 1 interest, but three scholarship offers fell through after the NCAA made the decision to allow all current college athletes another year of eligibility due to COVID-19.

The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks are currently 2–5 under first-year head coach Brad Korn. SEMO finished 7–24 a year ago and 3–15 in the 12-team Ohio Valley Conference.

“I picked Southeast Missouri State because went I went on my visit I just like the campus and their facilities,” said Larson. “They have brand new weight room and an arena that holds about 10,000 people. The coaches are really nice and I just knew that it was a great fit for me both athletically and academically.”

SE Missouri State a public university in Cape Girardeau, Mo. with a total enrollment of 10,603 (Fall 2019). Cape Girardeau is city of 40,559 (2019 estimate) located along the Mississippi River along the Missouri/Illinois border approximately 100 miles southeast of St. Louis. 

Larson first caught college coaches attention during his sophomore year. He made his first official college visit to Morningside College at the end of his junior season. He also visited Emporia State and took two visits to SE Missouri State, the first time about a month ago.

“We were supposed to go several times, but it kept getting pushed back because of COVID restrictions,” said Larson. “But when we finally were able to go, I really liked it. That first visit, he went with mother, then again a few weeks later with both his parents.

Larson is the son of Troy and Leslie Larson. 

“As a parent we are very proud,” said Troy, who has been the Fennimore boys basketball head coach the past three seasons. “You dream as a kid growing up of this kind of opportunity, but a dream and a reality are two very different things. As I told Jerry Petitgoue when he reached out to me to congratulate Adam, I told him we have been very blessed with a tremendous amount of talent in our area and the kids are being rewarded.”

“There facilities at SEMO really, really nice and they treat their athletes very well,” added coach Larson. “All coaches have a sales pitch, but I believe Adam has a fair shot to have an opportunity with the way they recruit as opposed to some other programs that bring in 25 guys and some kids get lost in the shuffle. Coach Korn only keeps 12 active players on his roster and Adam was one of two kids he recruited this year. I also enjoyed the small town feel and the southern hospitality. Cape Girardeau has a small town feel, but it is a hub for a number of area communities so there is a lot going on. It is also a river town and it feels a little bit like home.”

Cape Girardeau is 477 miles south of Fennimore, roughly a seven-hour car ride.

“Receiving a Division 1 scholarship requites a lot of work to earn,” said coach Larons. “This is high level basketball. A new journey is now beginning for Adam, but we are proud of him for all the hard work he has put in prior.”

Larson finished with a game-high 23 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks and two assists to lead the Eagles to a 61–35 win over Platteville last Tuesday. He then scored a game-high 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting, including 4 of 5 on 3-pointers, and had five blocks and three rebounds in a 71–43 win at Hillsboro on Tuesday.

Larson is averaging 24.4 points, 8.6 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2.7 assists for the 6–1 Eagles in seven games as a senior. He also averaged 22.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.2 blocks, and made 60 of 156 3-point attempts (38.5 percent) as a junior to earn WBCA D4 All-State honorable mention after leading the Golden Eagles to a 17–7 record.


HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Devin Digman, Jr., C, Platteville boys basketball
Digman posted a double–double of 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hillmen (2–5) to a dominating 44–27 win over visiting Black Hawk Monday night.


Dillon Garthwaite, Jr., G/F, Dodgeville boys basektball
Garthwaite averaged 19.7 points per game in three straight wins over the past week for the 3–1 Dodgers. He scored 20 in a 70–61 win at Black Hawk last Tuesday, then posted a game-high 24 points in a 62–33 rout of Baraboo on Monday and a team-high 15 in a 54–52 overtime win against Boscobel on Tuesday.


Kennedy Howell, So., G, and Tori Nodolf, So., F, Belmont girls basketball
Howell made five 3-pointers and scored a career-and-game-high 23 points, and Nodolf scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half and overtime to lead Belmont to a stunning 71–70 comeback victory over Argyle Monday night. Down three key veterans due to injuries and a close-contact quarantine, the young Braves (6–3) rallied from a seven-point deficit in the final minute of regulation to force overtime and then sank three free throws in the final 49 seconds of OT to shoot down the visiting Orioles (2–4). Nodolf's offensive rebound and putback with three seconds left in regulation tied the game at 64–64 and forced OT. Howell scored the first basket of overtime and Nodolf blocked a shot in the final seconds to preserve Belmont's one-point win.


Bailey Lutes, Sr., F, Cuba City girls basketball
Lutes, a Division 1 University of Illinois-Chicago recruit, finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists in Monday's 44–37 non-conference victory over Dodgeville. Lutes made 9 of 15 free throw attempts and finished with a game-high 19 points in the Cubans' 61–54 win over Boscobel Friday night. She also scored a game-high 14 points in a 56–38 win over Fennimore last Thursday night to lead Cuba City (5–2, 4–1 SWAL).

SUPPZ.COM SWNEWS4U ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Platteville's Lucas Ludlum
Ludlum breaks Lawinger’s 58-year-old PHS all-time scoring record
Ludlum Lawinger
Jim Lawinger (right) congratulates Platteville senior Lucas Ludlum during a postgame celebration honoring Ludlum for breaking Lawinger’s 58-year-old all-time scoring record. Ludlum scored a game-high 21 points in Saturday’s 93–41 win over Prairie du Chien and now has 1,202 career points, passing Lawinger’s former mark of 1,197 set in 1967. (photo by Brian Day / 416 Images)

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Swnews4u.com Athlete of the Week is a web-only feature that will publish each Thursday or Friday throughout the calendar year.

By Jason Nihles, The Platteville Journal, Fennimore Times, Boscobel Dial

Lucas Ludlum, Sr., G, Platteville boys basketball
PLATTEVILLE — There is a new name atop the Platteville boys basketball all-time scoring list.

Platteville senior Lucas Ludlum scored a game-high 21 points in Saturday’s 93–41 Senior/Parent’s Night blowout of winless Prairie du Chien to break Jim Lawinger’s 58-year-old school record.

The Hillmen opened the game on a 20–6 run over the first six minutes and the outcome was never in question.

The only drama Saturday night was Ludlum’s quest to chase down Lawinger, who led the Platteville boys to the 1966–67 SWC title and to the semifinals of the 1967 one division WIAA state tournament.

With a contested pull-up bank shot from the left block with 6:34 left in the first half Ludlum surpassed Lawinger’s previous all-time school record of 1,197 points (in 68  career games), which last nearly six decades.

The basket gave the home team a insurmountable 46–14 lead. Platteville coach Mike Huser called a quick timeout and Ludlum’s teammates poured on to the court to congratulate their unassuming leader. 

Huser gave Ludlum a big hug and an announcement was made to delight of the home crowd celebrating the accomplishment. 

Lawinger was in the crowd and recognized as the previous record holder. He also personally congratulated Ludlum in a ceremony following the game. Lawinger averaged 26.7 points per game as a senior and set a single-game high with 44 points in a game that season. 

Ludlum scored 20 of his 21 points in the first half before taking a seat early in the second half with the outcome well in hand. He finished the game 7 of 12 from the field and had a team-high nine rebounds and a team-best seven assists on a night where he became the program’s all-time scoring leader, now with 1,202 points.

“When you reflect on Lucas breaking Jim Lawinger’s school record, I guess a couple of things stood out,” said coach Huser. “The first is how consistent Lucas has been over the course of the past three years and this year as well.  The second is that Jim’s record stood for a long time, and we greatly appreciated Jim being able to be at the game and participate in the ceremony after the game with Lucas, our team, family and friends.  

“It was a special night for our program and Lucas, but Lucas also gave credit to his family, teammates and coaches, so everyone handled the historic milestone with class and grace.  I believe Lucas really enjoyed the moment and he deserved this achievement with his hard work and relentless work ethic in the gym and dedication to improving each season along the way.  It was definitely a night we will remember for a long time come.”

HONORABLE MENTION (in alphabetical order):
Kylie Burns, So., F, Richland Center girls basketball
Kylie Burns converted three straight free throws with 3.2 seconds left in overtime to give the Richland Center Hornets a 55–54 non-conference win here Tuesday night. The win was the Hornets’ first of the season and ended a 45-game losing streak dating back to the end of the 2022–23 campaign. The Hornets rallied to pull within 27–21 at the half and finally tied the game midway through the second half. The lead changed hands several times down the stretch before Regan Schoepp scored from close range to put the Hornets ahead 47–45. Viroqua freshman Allyah Schwenn quickly penetrated and scored to tie the game, 47–47, and force overtime.In the extra period, Burns accounted for all eight of the Hornets’ points with a three-pointer and five of five from the free throw line, and finished with 16 points in the win. 

Broker Buschor, SR., G/F, Darlington boys basketball
Buschor scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Redbirds to a 80–44 SWAL victory over Iowa–Grant last Thursday night. Buschor made 10 of 16 field goal attempts, including 3 of 8 3-point attempts, and added seven rebounds and three steals and in the process reached the 1,000-point career milestone. Buschor then posted a team-high 14 points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals to lead Darlington (15–5, 9–3 SWAL) to a 70–62 win over Southwestern (17–5, 8–4) to move into sole possession of second place in the SWAL.

Dayne Kauffman, Jr., G, Lancaster boys basketball
Thanks in large part to a 31-point performance by Lancaster junior Dayne Kauffman, coach Brian Knapp and his Flying Arrow boys basketball team sent visiting Dodgeville home with a 72-66 loss last Friday night in Southwest Wisconsin Conference action. Kauffman, who missed some time this season with a knee injury, is second on the team with an average of 14 points per game, but has shown the ability to explode, especially from beyond the 3-point arc. But on Friday night, Kauffman went 7-of-12 from inside the arc and 14-of-19 from the free throw line, accounting for all but three of his game-high 31 points. The Arrows needed every one of Kauffman’s points against the Dodgers, who outscored the Arrows 40-39 in the second half after trailing 33-26 at the intermission.

Ella Mackiewicz, Sr., G, UW–Platteville women's basketball
The UW–Platteville women’s basketball team’s third quarter 13–2 run got the Pioneers back in the game, but the rally fell short 75–65 at UW–La Crosse last Wednesday night. Junior Ella Mackiewicz scored a game-high 19 points, becoming the 12th player in team history to join the 1,000 Point Club in the process.