Hortonville, Mueller outduels Oshkosh North, Mitchell

A thriller between the Hortonville Polar Bears and a visiting Oshkosh North Spartans broke out on Friday, Jan 10. as they battled for position in the Fox Valley Association standings.

The Spartans came in led by one of the top seniors in the nation, Xzavion Mitchell, who is currently ranked 81st in the ESPN 100 recruits and is committed to Iowa State.

The Polar Bears boasted two of the Fox Valley Association’s top scorers. Ethan Joling and Riley Mueller came into the game averaging more than 18 points each.

It was a 31-15 lead for Hortonville, but not before long would the Spartans make a comeback behind Mitchell’s scoring prowess to cut the deficit to 31-27.

Hortonville went on a 15-11 run to end the half with a 46-38 lead. Mitchell scored 22 of the Spartans’ first-half points, while Mueller and Joling combined for 31.

In the second half, Mitchell and Mueller put on a show, as each player became impossible to guard for their opposition.

Mitchell scored 27 points in the second half to finish with 49 points for the Spartans, and Mueller scored 24 points in the final 18 minutes for the Polar Bears to finish with 39 points.

In the closing two minutes of the game, Joling fouled out of the contest, ending his night with 21 points and the Polar Bears up 84-80.

The Spartans brought the score to within one point as Owen Weber, who finished with 16 points, connected on a three-point make to pull within 85-84 with 38.6 seconds to go.

Hortonville pulled away at the free throw line in the waning seconds to win by a score of 91-86.