The first time the Glenville-Emmons boys’ basketball team played Lanesboro, it wasn’t pretty. The Burros doubled the Wolverines’ score.

However, in Thursday’s rematch, Glenville-Emmons held its ground in the first half during a 76-47 loss.

“The guys came out fearless,” said Wolverines head coach Jared Matson. “We were working well on offense and getting the shots we wanted.”

Lanesboro jumped out to a 9-2 lead, but a 3-pointer by Glenville-Emmons’ Derek Van Ryswyk sparked a 9-2 run to tie the game at 11.

“There’s been other times when we’ve played tough teams that things have snowballed on us at that point,” Matson said. “But we did a good job of maintaining composure for a good stretch there.”

At the 7-minute mark, the Wolverines took their first lead of the game, 15-13, on a layup by Aaron Dempewolf.

“I liked how he (Dempewolf) asserted himself in the post right away,” Matson said. “We wanted to work the ball inside, and he did a nice job for us.”

However, on Lanesboro’s next possession Luke Rogers hit a 3-pointer, and the floodgates opened.  Glenville-Emmons had it’s last lead 17-16, and from there the Burros went on a 13-0 run, which was part of a larger 24-4 run to end the first half.

Lanesboro built its 19-point halftime lead with precise 3-point shooting and by forcing turnovers with a full-court press.

In the second half, Lanesboro extended its lead by continuing to shoot well from behind the arc, and Rogers scored his 1,000th career point. The Burros drained nine 3-pointers.

“They’re one of the top 3-point shooting teams in our conference, and they had 13 against us the first time,” Matson said. “Once they get rolling, they’re hard to stop.”

Lanesboro won the first meeting 84-42.

“We improved on the score we had against them last time, so I was happy with that,” Matson said.

Van Ryswyk led Glenville-Emmons with a double double: 12 points and 11 rebounds. Dempewolf added seven points and six rebounds. Eight Wolverines scored.

“It was nice to get those guys in to get some experience,” Matson said. “Going into sections, you’re going to need a deep bench.”

Lanesboro (15-6 overall, 13-2 Southeast Conference) is second in the conference’s East Division standings behind Spring Grove, a team that has yet to lose a conference game.

Glenville-Emmons (7-14 overall, 4-10 Southeast Conference) is fourth in the conference’s West Division standings.

The Wolverines already improved on last year’s 6-22 overall record, and they have five games left before the Section 1A playoffs start.

Next, the Wolverines host Grand Meadow at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Superlarks (6-12 overall, 5-8 Southeast Conference) won the first meeting with Glenville-Emmons 56-39 on Jan. 30.

Statistics are in the Scoreboard: Feb. 6 post.