This story is sponsored by Forward Financial Bank
By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
SPENCER – The beat goes on for the Spencer boys basketball team.
Mitch Susa scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Spencer made nine of 14 shots from 3-point range to down Owen-Withee 64-41 in a Cloverbelt Conference East Division game Tuesday night at Spencer High School.
The Rockets won their 10th-straight game to improve to 15-1 overall and a perfect 12-0 in the Cloverbelt East. Spencer holds a three-game lead in the conference standings with four games remaining.
The game was tight through the first quarter, with Spencer taking a 13-12 lead after a late 3-pointer by Bobby Pilz.
The Rockets used that momentum to their advantage, scoring the first six points of the second quarter and going on a 16-6 run overall during the first 5 minutes to open up an 11-point lead.
Back-to-back baskets from Susa capped the run. Owen-Withee responded with a pair of free throws before Ryan Busse scored for the Rockets and Spencer held a double-digit lead the rest of the game.
“I thought the last couple of games we were sloppy offensively,” Spencer coach Randy Reckner said. “They gave us a lot of pressure with trapping and we did a great job of handling that.”
Spencer held Owen-Withee scoreless for the first 5:19 of the third quarter, pushing the lead to 17 after a Pilz 3-pointer.
Owen-Withee (9-8, 7-5 Cloverbelt East) went without a basket over the first 4:25 of the fourth quarter as Spencer kept up its relentless pressure and took the lead to as much as 24. Spencer made nine of 11 free throws in the fourth quarter and was an impressive 17 of 20 for the game.
Nate Mercier added 14 points and Pilz finished with 13 as both made three 3-pointers in the victory.
“We knew they would use a 1-2-2 trap and we prepped for it,” Reckner said. “Bobby, Nate and Mitch did a really good job handling it on top. I’ve got a lot of experience here and it’s nice to see them talking on the floor and letting everyone know where everybody is.”
Junior Calvin Lenz came off the bench and added 10 points and four rebounds for the Rockets. Lenz has been a key component for Spencer all season.
“Calvin is a quarterback and he knows how to lead the team,” Reckner said. “He talks so well and everybody on the team knows it and hears him. We had a couple young kids in there and he had them going to the right spots. He’s playing so well for us and he’s doing it in a role coming off the bench.”
Spencer plays at Neillsville on Thursday. With a victory, the Rockets would clinch at least a share of the Cloverbelt East championship. The title would Spencer’s first boys basketball conference championship tying Pittsville for the Marawood Conference South title in 2006-07.
Rockets 64, Blackhawks 41
Owen-Withee 12 14 7 8 – 41
Spencer 13 23 17 11 – 64
OWEN-WITHEE (41): Austin Milliren 4-8 0-0 11, A.J. Ovyn 2-5 4-4 8, Kolton Kaduce 3-5 0-0 7, Bryce Niemi 1-5 4-4 7, Will Maki 2-3 1-2 5, Preston Shelton 0-3 3-4 3, John Schmelzer 0-2 0-0 0, Hayden Houts 0-0 0-0 0, Adam Shakal 0-3 0-0 0, Colton Booth 0-0 0-0 0, Joe Stratton 0-0 0-0 0, Marlin Pogodzinski 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 12-35. FT: 12-14. 3-pointers: 5-14 (Milliren 3-4, Kaduce 1-2, Niemi 1-2, Ovyn 0-1, Shelton 0-1, Schmelzer 0-1, Shakal 0-3). Turnovers: 15. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: none. Record: 9-8, 7-5 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.
SPENCER (64): Mitch Susa 4-10 6-7 15, Nate Mercier 4-6 3-4 14, Bobby Pilz 5-12 0-1 13, Calvin Lenz 3-7 2-2 10, Ryan Busse 1-2 2-2 4, Noah Zastrow 0-0 2-2 2, Aaron Pankratz 1-1 0-0 2, Miles Weber 0-3 2-2 2, Dakota Andreae 1-2 0-0 2, Jonathan Tomke 0-0 0-0, Jack Burnett 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Meyers 0-0 0-0 0, Jack Bezlyk 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 19-43. FT: 17-20. 3-pointers: 9-14 (Mercier 3-3, Pilz 3-4, Lenz 2-2, Susa 1-5). Rebounds: 31 (Susa 10). Assists: 12 (Lenz 4). Turnovers: 13. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: none. Record: 15-1, 12-0 Cloverbelt Conference East Division.