Spencer narrowly defeats Greenwood in rough-and-tumble contest

When the Greenwood boys basketball team went to play Spencer last Thursday, it was a toss up as to who would come out the victor, especially since both teams entered the game with a 2-9 record. Although the Greenwood boys ultimately lost the game, they kept it close and showed endurance, toughing it out with slim numbers. Greenwood has only nine players on the varsity roster to begin with, and two of those were absent. So other than some brief subbing by freshman Christopher Prusinski, the same five players were running all night long. Their dogged determination kept it competitive to the very end.

The game opened with a layup from Spencer senior Degan Kind, followed by a jumper from fellow senior Nathan Rucker. Greenwood responded with a basket from senior Luke Plechacek, who served as a tall inside presence most of the game, although in this instance he made a jumper just shy of three-point range. Before Greenwood could score anymore, Spencer senior Tyler Waughtal made a shot from the top of the arc to put his team at 7.

As the players raced down the court to the Greenwood side, the Spencer student section got loud, chanting, “Defense, defense!” Their chants seemingly worked as the Rockets knocked the ball away from Greenwood and raced back to their end. That and other turnovers plagued Greenwood throughout the game, taking away opportunities to score.

Although Spencer’s steal didn’t result in a basket, a short time later Spencer senior Connor Bacon put up two to make it 9-2. After five minutes had elapsed, Greenwood called a timeout.

After the break, Greenwood senior Rogan Travis attempted a basket and missed, but was fouled on the way and went to the line to make both of his free throws. Then, Spencer got a field goal from sophomore Carter Luepke. Next, it was sophomore James Durrstein that went to the line for Greenwood and put in two free throws, followed by another free throw by Travis. That put the score at 11-7.

Kind caught a fast break and made an unblocked shot for Spencer; however, 20 seconds later, Greenwood senior Ryver Glynn made a three from the side to make it 13-10. That was not the only three he would make during the game. He ended up making seven of them, most from one particular spot on the gym floor.

Glynn’s basket sent the Greenwood fans into celebration mode, but just after that, Kind responded with his own basket to get the Spencer crowd fired up. Energized, the Rockets darted around the court, but couldn’t quite get any shots to fall immediately.

At 7:53 left, Greenwood senior Christian Thomas got fouled, Spencer’s seventh foul, and gladly went to the line where he put one in for his team. Despite the Indians struggling at times to make field goals in the first half, free throws helped them stay in it, with them scoring 10 in the first half. That being said, they could have surpassed the Rockets if they had made their other five free throws in the half.

As the half wore on, Spencer got more aggressive on defense, tipping the ball or stealing it away a few times. A hot streak by the Rockets including a three by Waughtal helped them get as far as 11 points ahead, 26-15, with just over two minutes remaining. However, the Indians took control from there, going on a six-point streak. Glynn completed two shots from the charity stripe, followed by one by Travis. Then Travis made a layup with 48 seconds to go. Finally, he put in another layup off an assist from Plechacek before the buzzer sounded. Greenwood’s late surge let the team finish the half on a high note, still trailing but certainly within striking distance, with 22 points to Spencer’s 26.

The Indians carried that momentum a bit into the second half, with a 3-pointer to start things off, this one from Christian Thomas. However, the Rockets gained the momentum after that and went on a six-point scoring run, including baskets by freshman Sam Bezlyk, senior Luke Roehrborn. Greenwood retaliated and came close to surpassing Spencer when Durrstein nailed a two-point jumper to bring the score to 34-33. But then, ever so gradually, Spencer started to pull away again. The Rockets gave themselves plenty of time on offense to find a good look, while in the meantime ratcheting up their defensive pressure, including running a fullcourt press. At 7:28 on the clock, Spencer captured the ball and Bezlyk made a long pass to Roehrborn for the open basket. That put the Rockets the furthest ahead they had been, at 11 points — 46-35. That was when the Indians’ grittiness came into play. After a Greenwood timeout, Glynn got hot, starting with a fast break he turned into a score. Over the next four minutes, he sank four 3-pointers, much to the cheers of his classmates watching.

By the time the clock read 2:04, the Rockets were up 52-49 and their coach called a timeout. After the break, Spencer had a shot bounce in and back out. But, Rucker went to the line and put one in to make it 53-49. The teams took turns racing down the court, with both trying and failing to make shots.

With 1:05 left, Greenwood called a timeout. After that, Greenwood got the ball and missed a jump shot. Spencer took over and Bezlyk missed a shot, but drew the foul and completed his second free throw to make it a five-point game. Not done yet, Glynn put in another three from his favorite spot just seven seconds later. This time Bacon got ahold of the ball and missed his shot, but was fouled on the way and made his second free throw, leaving the score at 55-52 with 21 seconds left on the clock. Greenwood called a timeout to strategize.

When starting play again, the Indians dashed to their end of the court and worked the ball around the horn but were unable to find any open looks. Their coach called a timeout again with four-and-a-half seconds left. When the referee blew the whistle to start play again, Spencer immediately called a timeout, likely trying to ice the shooter. After the timeout, Greenwood made a lastditch three attempt but it was no good. The buzzer sounded and that was that. Spencer took the 55-52 win.

Scoring was pretty even across the board for Spencer, with eight players contributing. Kind led the way with 11 points. Roehrborn scored 10. Junior Jonathan Jonas had nine, Bacon had seven, Waughtal had six, Bezlyk and Rucker each had five, and sophomore Carter Luepke added two.

On the Greenwood side, Glynn had a standout performance with 28 points scored. Thomas and Travis each had nine. Durrstein added four and Plechacek had two.

Editor Valorie Brecht contributed to this report.

Spencer senior Nathan Rucker gets off a successful shot despite being closely defended. He scored five points for the Rockets Feb. 9.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTO