This story is sponsored by American Family Insurance/Randy Le Moine Agency LLC
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – Neillsville surged ahead early and every time the Spencer boys basketball team tried to make a run, the Warriors responded.
In the end, Neillsville prevailed 63-51, damaging Spencer’s dreams of a Cloverbelt Conference East Division championship on Thursday night at Spencer High School.
The Warriors improve to 13-5 overall and 12-3 in the Cloverbelt East, while Spencer falls to 10-5 and 10-4 in the conference. The loss knocks Spencer 2½ games behind first-place Owen-Withee with just four conference games remaining.
Neillsville started the game on a 12-4 run and never trailed. Michael Dux scored 12 of his game-high 22 points in the first quarter as the Warriors charged ahead 22-11 after a basket by Neal Matson just before the buzzer.
Spencer did not get closer than eight points in the second quarter and seven the rest of the game.
“We have to keep our intensity on defense,” Spencer coach Randy Reckner said. “Sometimes we get caught in lulls. We’re not quite intense and when that happens – like tonight we kind of got in a lull in the second quarter and they exploded on us. We have to be all out, all the time.”
Matt Grottke scored eight of his 15 points in the second quarter as the Warriors built the lead to 34-21 at the break.
Neillsville pushed the lead to 39-21 after scoring the first five points of the second half before Spencer attempted to make a run.
A three-point play by Joe Meyers, who had a team-high 15 points, started a 9-0 run to bring the Rockets to within nine.
Sam Neville hit a pair of 3-pointers and Dux added another as the Warriors were able to hold off Spencer’s hot shooting in the final 1:35 of the third quarter. Bobby Pilz had a three-point play and Meyers drilled two 3-pointers in the same time period as Neillsville maintained a nine-point lead.
Spencer cut it to seven with a basket by Meyers on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Rockets made only three baskets over the final 7½ minutes. Neillsville pushed the lead back to 15 before a late 3-pointer from Pilz.
“I thought the first quarter and the third quarters were the key for them,” Reckner said. “The hit three 3s in a row while we were putting pressure on them and they knocked them down, give them credit. It was disappointing. It was a tough one to lose.”
Spencer hosts Marshfield Columbus Catholic on Saturday. The game begins at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on WOSQ-FM 92.3 and wdlbwosq.com.
Warriors 63, Rockets 51
Neillsville 22 12 14 15 – 63
Spencer 11 10 18 12 – 51
NEILLSVILE (63): Michael Dux 9-15 1-2 22, Matt Grottke 7-10 1-2 15, Sam Neville 6-12 0-0 14, Neal Matson 2-4 0-1 4, Jake Kunze 1-8 2-4 4, Devin Opelt 1-3 1-2 4, Ricky Nelson 0-0 0-0 0, Josh Lis 0-0 0-0 0, Donavon Harris 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 26-52. FT: 5-11. 3-pointers: 6-17 (Dux 3-8, Neville 2-7, Opelt 1-1, Kunze 0-1). Rebounds: 27 (Grottke 11). Assists: 10 (Matson 3). Turnovers: 12. Fouls: 10. Fouled out: none. Record: 13-5, 12-3 Cloverbelt East.
SPENCER (51): Joe Meyers 5-12 3-5 15, Mitchell Susa 6-14 1-1 14, Bobby Pilz 5-9 1-1 12, Jeremiah Cattanach 3-9 1-1 7, Calvin Lenz 1-3 1-2 3, Ryan Busse 0-1 0-0 0, Miles Weber 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Esser 0-1 0-0 0, Spencer Susa 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 20-50. FT: 7-10. 3-pointers: 4-15 (Meyers 2-5, Pilz 1-3, M. Susa 1-5, Cattanach 0-2). Rebounds: 16 (Meyers 4, M. Susa 4). Assists: 7 (Pilz 3). Turnovers: 10. Fouls: 12. Fouled out: none. Record: 10-5, 10-4 Cloverbelt East.