Despite falling to Viborg-Hurley (62-56) in SoDak 16, Spartans celebrate great season
The Wessington Springs Spartans persevered, overcoming a nine-point third-quarter deficit during Friday night’s third round Region 5B basketball action, coming up with a 64-58 win over the Marty Braves at the Corn Palace.
"For three quarters we played hard but not our best,” said Spartans Head Basketball Coach Kenny Huether. “I have to give credit to Marty, they had a couple of guards who hit some tough shots. There are close to 80 Class B teams in the state. If you studied them all, it would be hard to come up with more than a handful that are quicker than we are. Marty is one of them.”
Marty led 49-40 after three quarters but in the last eight minutes, the Spartans outscored them 24-9 in the final frame to earn their spot in tonight’s SoDak 16.
“I told the boys, we have done this before but we will have to play with a lot of heart. In Friday’s game, it was nine with Marty and they hit the first bucket,” said Huether. “From that moment on, it was us and we had a remarkable run in a remarkable game.”
Huether was referring to three different games when the Spartans had come back in the second half to win against tough teams: when Wolsey led by seven at the half; James Valley Christian led by six at the half; Tripp-Delmont/Armour led by 11 at the beginning of the fourth.
“I’m having a blast. This is such a good group of boys and they are young, the future looks bright. To be doing what we are doing now is amazing,” Coach Huether explained.
But Huether points out that the start of the year was not what the Spartans had envisioned. They were 2-5 with three of those losses in the final minute.
“That was hard on the boys and hard on me,” Huether recalls. “One thing we needed to do was become a better defensive team. I told the boys that things will turn around, but first, we had to get better defensively.”
Since then, the Spartans have won 14 out of 15 games, with the only loss being against the number one seeded team, Lower Brule, losing by just six points.
“To play a team of that caliber, a team that tough, coming back from double digit deficits, tells you something about the kind of team we are,” Huether stated.
During Friday’s game, Colby Flowers scored 25 points with Parker Graff adding 12 points and three assists. Blake Larson scored 10 points and had four assists. Brock Krueger led the Spartans with eight rebounds.
In preparation for the SoDak 16, the Spartans studied film on opponent Viborg-Hurley.
“We worked on how we were going to match up because we are a man-to-man defensive team,” he said. “Blake Larson is one of the best defensive guards I’ve seen in my career. He draws the assignment of guarding the other team’s best perimeter player. They have somewhat of a press, we worked on how to break that.”
After a small pep rally at the elementary school, the bus was Salem-bound at 3:45 p.m. The Spartans, along with Coach Huether, requested not to have a big send off.
Unfortunately, on Tuesday, March 7, during the SoDak 16 game, the Spartans fell to Viborg-Hurley, 62-56. Coverage of that game will be published in the March 15 edition of the True Dakotan.
In addition to this group of players, Coach Huether attributes the Spartan’s success to support from the coaching staff and the school community.
“I’ve enjoyed working with Coach Hasty — he is like the big little brother I never had. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him and his family and appreciate the work he’s put in,” Huether said. “I also want to thank Joey Mitchell and his help behind the scenes.Thanks also to the school board for hiring me to come to Wessington Springs, I have had a wonderful time coaching here.”
Coach Huether also recognizes the significance of the strong fan base enjoyed by the Spartans.
“The community support has been tremendous — from the student body to parents and quite simply, the fans,” Coach Huether shared. “It isn’t like that everywhere, this is the third place I’ve coached basketball. It is so much fun when the community is behind you — this is the way high school basketball is supposed to be.”