---

By Levi Zimmerman
In the unofficial battle for Highway 151, the Mineral Point Pointers prevailed over the Dodgeville Dodgers in both teams' season opener in boys basketball, 85-79.
It was closely contested throughout much of the game, with both sides trading scores and defensive stops.
There were 12 lead changes in the first half.
Even though the Pointers can be explosive offensively, Dodgeville was making open shots and had the upperhand in the post, thanks to seven-foot junior Chandler Batchelor.
Batchelor made an impact early on with two blocks in quick succession and an and-one play on the other end of the court.
He also passed the ball efficiently; Batchelor assisted Matthew Pittz on a three-point field goal at the 6:30 mark to put the Dodgers ahead, 24-21.
Also having a big night for Dodgeville was senior Dillon Garthwaite, who poured in 23 points in a variety of ways.
Garthwaite scored inside and outside and shot six of eight from the free throw line.
Junior guard LaCarder Walker was another top-performer for Dodgeville.
Walker used his quickness to slash through the Mineral Point defense and had a pair of steals on the other end.
Dodgeville held a 40-37 lead at halftime.
Mineral Point came out stronger in the second half.
The Pointers caused turnovers early and capitalized on them.
Leyten Bowers netted 22 points and was 11/15 from the free throw line.
If he wasn't scoring the points, Bowers was assisting or facilitating.
Joah Filardo led Mineral Point in scoring with 26.
Another Pointer making a big impact on the game was Bryce Acherman.
Acherman entered the game and used his physicality to offset Dodgeville's Batchelor.
He also made some big scores in the second half to keep Mineral Point in front.
Senior Owen Ward also made his presence felt in the paint.
Ward, a more athletic forward, was a key player in the rebounding game for the Pointers and scored some big points down the stretch, including a two-point score with two minutes left to put the Pointers up, 80-73.
Mineral Point took care of the ball and milked the clock to leave Dodgeville with a non-conference win.
Mineral Point head coach Dan Burreson had this to say about the Pointers' performance Tuesday: "It took everybody to get it done tonight. Dodgeville is a good team, and they're going to cause problems. I like the way we battled and came together. It wasn't just one guy that did it for us."
Burreson continued on, highlighting some Pointers with top-performances.
"I thought Owen Ward and Bryce Acherman were huge for us," Burreson stated. Tanner Goninen gave us some big minutes and hit a couple of big threes. Bodie Bossert played well. All in all, it was a good team-win."
Dodgeville head coach Matt McGraw said that he was pleased with his team's play, despite being on the losing end.
"It was a battle between two solid teams. It was a typical Dodgeville/Mineral Point battle," said McGraw. Going into the first half, we were happy with a lot of the things we were doing. In the second half, we couldn't come up with the stops to grab a late lead. Each time we would cut it to a one possession game, Mineral Point would get a basket or get to the line."
McGraw also credited Coach Burreson with switching to a one-three-one defense in the second half, which caused problems for the Dodgers.
"You win or you learn," said McGraw. I think we can learn from this."
The Pointers will play at Belleville Thursday, Dec. 2, while Dodgeville will play at Wisconsin Heights.
SCORE BY HALVES
MP 37 48 85
DV 40 39 79
BOX SCORE
Mineral Point 85: (fg-ft-tp)
Ward 3-4-10, Bowers 5-11-22, McVay 0-2-2, Lindsey 0-0-0, Goninen 2-0-6, Kisgen 0-0-0, Bossert 6-0-11, Hottenstein 0-0-0,J. Filardo 9-6-26, Jackson 0-0-0, K. Filardo 0-0-0, Palzkill 0-0-0, Acherman 3-0-6. Totals- 28-21/35-85 Fouls- 19
Dodgeville 79: (fg-ft-tp)
Pittz 5-0-14, Walker 6-5-18, Garthwaite 8-6-23, Wasley 1-0-2, Busch 0-2-2, Williams 0-0-0, N. Pittz 0-0-0, Haakenson 1-0-2, Olson 0-0-0, Halverson 1-1-4, Berg 2-0-4, Batchelor 4-3-11.Totals-28-17/28-79 Fouls-19
3 point goals:
MP (5)- Goninen 2, Bowers 1, Filardo 1, Bossert 1
DV (6)- M. Pittz 4, Garthwaite 1, Halverson 1