Spartans Head Into Regions as 281 Conference Champs, First in Conference
With a definitive 67-49 victory at home over Sanborn Central/Woonsocket on Friday, February 23, the Spartans emerged at the very top of the 281 Conference. Ryder Michalek had 22 points and eight rebounds. Blake Larson had four points, three rebounds and four assists. Brock Krueger finished the night with 13 points, six rebounds and one assist. Colby Flowers rounded out the final regular season game with eight points, four assists and four rebounds.
Post-Season Journey Leads to “Night of the Spartans”
On Tuesday, February 27, the Region 5B quarterfinals saw the Spartans deliver a convincing win against Avon, 62-36, in front of a big home crowd. Ryder Michalek topped 1,000 points for his career during the contest and Parker Graff led the Spartans with 20 points. Brock Krueger added nine points, 10 rebounds and five steals.
The win advanced them to the Region 5B semifinal match against Corsica-Stickney at the Corn Palace.
“We had a poor first quarter and were behind 12-7 after the first quarter. We held Corsica-Stickney to a single basket in the second quarter and were able to score 15 points,” Coach Huether stated. “The bottom line is our foundation is defensive play.”
The 52-35 victory advanced the Spartans to the SoDak 16 for a second-straight season and a Class B state bid.
“I keep repeating, we don’t get there if we don’t win the game ahead of us. We have one step left,” said Huether. “We sniffed going to state last year but ended up six points short to Viborg Hurley. We played hard and we were a little physically overwhelmed by their size.”
Huether said that right now is the culmination of a whole year’s work.
“To overcome everything and be here looking at one more step, we are excited for the opportunity,” he said. “We are hoping the SoDak 16 game is the night of the Spartans.”
Spartans are State Bound
An impenetrable defensive foundation paired with one of Class B’s best scoring offenses steeredtheSpartanstosuccess throughout the regular and post season, leading No. 4 Wessington Springs to deliver a convincing 54-35 win over 13-seed Waverly-South Shore in the SoDak 16 on Tuesday, March 5 in Huron.
With 21 consecutive wins and a victory in the SoDak 16, Wessington Springs has earned a trip to the state tournament — the first appearance for the boys in 30 years when the Spartans were state-bound in 1994 as a member of Class A.
Only allowing 10 points by halftime in Tuesday's game, the Spartan's defense, once again, stepped up.
In the SoDak 16 game, Ryder Michalek led the Spartans with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Colby Flowers also had 12 rebounds along with nine points. Parker Graff scored 14 points and had six rebounds. Brock Krueger rounded the game out with eight points.