Rockets shoot their way to clear victory over Greenwood

By Valorie Brecht When the Spencer Rockets traveled to play the Greenwood Indians in boys basketball last week, the Rockets fired up, up and away as they increased the scoring gap between the two teams. Heading into the Feb. 8 game, Spencer had a 2-9 record while Greenwood had yet to tally a win in conference play.

Spencer quickly went to work, with Sam Bezlyk hitting a jumper from the paint to start things off. That was followed by Drake Johnson sinking a corner three to put Spencer up 5-0. A minute later, Greenwood retaliated with a 2-pointer by Keagan Gipe, who would be a frequent scorer in the game. The next couple of minutes were marked by mistakes from both teams, including a missed shot by Greenwood and a travel call on Spencer. Greenwood also had two 3-point attempts that rolled around the rim and right back out.

At 13:04, Drake Johnson got things moving again with a 3-pointer from midway between the top of the key and the corner. The Indians tried to mount a comeback, but kept running into roadblocks. They attempted a 3-pointer on the next possession, but it was no good. Bezlyk turned up the heat on defense and knocked the ball away from a Greenwood player. Shortly after that, Greenwood got called for traveling. And, try as they might, the Greenwood boys couldn’t seem to get inside to make an easy shot.

At 11:19, Breckin Miller caught a fast break and put in a basket for Spencer. That started a 7-point run for the Rockets, ending with Spencer ahead 15-2. Greenwood’s Carter Johnson chipped into that lead a bit, with a jump shot just shy of 3-point range at 9:40. However, then the Rockets went on another scoring run, this time putting up 9 unanswered points. At 7:11, Carter Johnson broke through with a layup to make it 24-6. Seemingly as if someone had flipped a switch, the Greenwood team came alive and started making baskets they had previously missed. Over the next four minutes, both teams scored 11 points, with Greenwood’s points coming from Carter Johnson, James Durrstein and Cody Eckes, and Spencer’s points coming from Bezlyk, Miller and Carter Luepke, among others.

The score stood at 35-17 with three and a half minutes left in the frame. Greenwood stayed full speed ahead and scored 12 more points before the half was up, while Spencer had just 7. That left the score 42-29 at the break, While not a tight score, it was a far cry from the first eight minutes of the game when Greenwood was held to 2 points, and the 13-point gap was certainly closer than Spencer coach Charles Jennings would have liked. He said there were several factors that contributed.

“(We had) poor shot selection and weren’t grabbing rebounds. And no help on defense — it was nonexistent,” said Jennings.

That trend continued for a bit into the second half. However, Greenwood also wasn’t making any headway in closing the gap. After three minutes of play, the gap between the two teams remained about the same, Spencer up 14 points, 47-33. Around that point, shots began falling for Spencer again. Bezlyk made a quick basket off an inbound pass. Not long after, he broke away and darted down the court to put in two. Drake Johnson added an underhand layup to continue the scoring train.

When the score was 51-34, the Rockets went on another 9-point run to put some distance between themselves and Greenwood. Although the home team stayed determined, they lost out on some opportunities with missed free throws, a poor pass that ended up in Spencer’s hands and an over-and-back call. Spencer also stepped up its game on defense, with one notable moment occurring when Mathers McHone blocked a Greenwood shot attempt.

Over the latter half of the second half, Spencer scored 22 points while Greenwood picked up 16. That led to the final score of 82-50 for the Spencer victory.

Spencer’s offensive performance was certainly a group effort, with seven players scoring and five of those in double digits. Bezlyk set a personal record for points scored in a game, with 29 (the most he had this season according to WisSports.net data). He completed 12 two-pointers and made five of his seven free throws.

McHone was the next highest scorer with 16. He sunk three 3s and three 2s, along with a free throw. Luepke scored 12 points for the Rockets, all from 2-point field goals. Carter Johnson scored 10, including two shots from beyond the arc. Miller had 10 as well, with four 2-pointers and a couple of free throws. Tyler Peterson had 3 and Davide Chemello had 2.

“Drake Johnson played a really nice game. Carter Luepke had a really nice game for us; he had some nice rebounding and worked hard down low. Sam Bezlyk had a really awesome game. I mean, everybody contributed so that’s great. That’s what we’re looking for,” said Jennings.

The team stayed consistent, scoring 42 points in the first half and 40 in the second half. One area for improvement was at the line, with the Rockets making 44% of their free throws. They also turned the ball over 13 times.

“It would be nice to keep our turnovers to 10 or less,” said Jennings. “The main things we need to work on are turnovers, boxing out and rebounding.”

On Greenwood’s side, Carter Johnson led the way in scoring. He had 18 points and was hot on the 3-point shot, scoring four 3-pointers. Gipe scored 17 points, including five 2-pointers, one 3-pointer and four free throws. Durrstein picked up 6 points. Anton Livingston had 5. Eckes had 4.

The team accumulated 18 turnovers and had a free throw percentage of 35%.

Greenwood and Spencer will play their last regular season games this Friday, Greenwood at home versus Loyal and Spencer at Neillsville, before the Cloverbelt crossover games on Feb. 22.

Above, Drake Johnson of Spencer launches a successful three in the Greenwood versus Spencer game last Thursday. Below, Greenwood’s Carter Johnson does the same.

VALORIE BRECHT/STAFF PHOTOS