Last Tuesday’s 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.”