Loyal Greyhounds secure 2 hard-fought road wins
Above left, Reed Stieglitz shoots a layup for the Hounds in their game at Spencer Friday. Above right, Joe Treffinger attempts a jump shot for Loyal. Below, Weston Nieman shoots for Spencer. He accumulated 12 points on the evening.
By Harry Toufar The Loyal Greyhounds boys basketball team earned two road victories last week to move to the top of the Cloverbelt–East standings, but those victories didn’t come easily.
Last week Tuesday, the Greyhounds traveled to Colby to take on the always-tough Hornets. The game started slow, as it took two minutes before Hunter Walter sank two free throws to put the Hounds on the board. After a Hornet free throw, Parker Smith made a basket, making it a 4-1 ball game. Colby countered with 5 points of their own for a short lead before a third bucket by Smith tied it up at six apiece. Both teams then traded baskets, with Colby still holding a 12-8 lead. A basket by Cain Toufar and a third bucket by Smith evened the score at 12 each. Colby hit for a 2-pointer and a three to give them a 5-point lead. Baskets by Toufar and Bryce Deegan sandwiched around a Reed Stieglitz free throw brought the Hounds even again. Colby rounded out the first half outscoring Loyal 9 to 3 to take a 26-20 lead into the locker room.
In the second half, both ball clubs traded baskets, with the Hornets eventually increasing their lead to 8 points. The Greyhounds decided to kick it into high gear. Three-pointers by Stieglitz and Deegan, two baskets by Toufar and two from Rhett Lamovec gave the Hounds a 3-point lead.
CHEYENNE THOMAS/STAFF PHOTOS
They would not trail the rest of the way. While the Loyal defense kept the Hornets at bay, the quartet of Stieglitz, Deegan, Toufar and Lamovec continued to blister the nets. Loyal capped off a great comeback with a 61-52 score.
Toufar had a monster night, scoring 19 points and sweeping 17 rebounds. Stieglitz finished with 14 points, including 6 of 12 from the charity stripe and two 3-pointers. Lamovec finished the night with9points.Deeganscored 7 points, including a 3-pointer, and had a huge defensive game with four blocks. Smith (6), Walter (4) and Carson Prein (2) rounded out the scoring.
Friday night would be another challenge for Loyal as they traveled to Spencer to take on a much-improved Rocket squad in the dome. Toufar started the Greyhound scoring with a basket plus 1. Parker Smith made it 5-0 with a bucket.
Sam Bezlyk got things rolling for the Rockets by scoring 5 points, including a 3-pointer. Deegan had a basket and Toufar scored again, giving Loyal a 4-point lead. Sophomores Wes Nieman (3-pointer) and Ben Felgner (two free throws) gave Spencer their first lead of the game at 10-9. A basket by Toufar and two free throws by Lamovec returnd the lead to Loyal. Niemen made two free throws to bring the Rockets back to within 1 point, 13-12. The Greyhounds then went on a 10-0 run, giving them a 23-12 lead. Felgner and Nieman once again brought the Rockets back, but Loyal would not succumb. Deegan and sophomore Carson Prein chipped in for Loyal, while Mathers McHone scored two free throws for the Rockets. Spencer, mostly behind Bezlyk and Felgner, battled back, getting the score even at 36 at the half.
The second half saw Spencer come alive, while Loyal took some time getting started. With about five and a half minutes left on the clock, the Rockets had a 10-point lead. Loyal would not be denied, as they ran off 10 unanswered points to tie the game at 58. Toufar scored, giving Loyal a 2-point lead. Spencer responded by tying up the score, setting up Deegan’s winning basket with three seconds left. Spencer took a quick timeout, setting up a last shot that was off the mark. That left the final score at 62-60 for the Loyal win. A trio of players from each team garnered most of the scoring. Bezlyk (20), Felgner (15) and Nieman (12) scored 47 of their team’s 60 points. Breckin Miller (7) and McHone (6) rounded out the scoring. For Loyal, Stieglitz led the way with 17 points. Deegan scored 15 and Toufar had 11. They had more support from their teammates, with Lamovec (8), Prein (7), and Smith and Walter with 2 each.
Loyal now stands 5-0 on the season, 2-0 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. They play host to Neillsville on Thursday and travel to Wisconsin Dells on Saturday to take on Randolph at Just A Game Fieldhouse. That game will start at 4:30 p.m.
Spencer is now 3-2 on the season, 0-2 in the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference. They will host Colby on the 19th.
