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By Paul Lecker
MarshfieldAreaSports.com
COLBY – One two-minute stretch proved to be the difference between a win and a loss for the Spencer boys basketball team.
The Rockets used a 12-2 run late in the third quarter to pull away from Colby and pull out a 56-44 win in a Cloverbelt Conference East Division game Tuesday night at Colby High School.
The burst separated Spencer from the Hornets in what had been an uneven game plagued by turnovers and fouls.
Mitchell Susa hit a pair of 3-pointers in the run that pushed a 25-23 lead to a 37-25 advantage during a stretch of 1:49 in the third.
“I have a couple of very nice perimeter shooters and luckily the shots were falling for them tonight,” Spencer coach Randy Reckner said. “We stretched the lead and forced a couple of turnovers from them, and we were able to hold on at the end.”
As good as the Rockets were in that key push, they were just as bad for a stretch of the fourth quarter that let Colby back in the game.
Spencer turned the ball over on five straight possessions and Hunter Busse scored seven points in a row for the Hornets to cut the Rockets’ lead to 45-40 with 2:12 to go.
However, the Rockets recovered and made 9 of 12 free throws in the final 1:15 to ice the victory.
Jeremiah Cattanach led Spencer with 19 points and made 11 of 13 free throws, including 7 of 8 in the fourth quarter.
“We were making poor decisions and it’s all stuff that when we look at the film we will break it down and say, ‘Look at what you did here,’” Reckner said. “It’s hard to go out there, the second game of the year, with two freshmen on the floor at the end of the game, and you’re going to do everything right. It’s just not going to happen. I was just happy we persevered.”
Spencer, off to a 2-0 start with two road wins in the Cloverbelt East, may be ahead of schedule, Reckner said.
“We might be a little bit ahead of where I thought we’d be at this time of the year, especially with our inexperience,” Reckner said. “It’s been really nice seeing kids step up, especially kids with no varsity experience, and the older kids have been doing a great job. It was very nice to come in here and get a win on the road.”
Spencer is off until Nov. 29 when it hosts Augusta in its home opener.
Rockets 56, Hornets 44
Spencer 10 12 17 17 – 56
Colby 11 10 8 15 – 44
SPENCER (56): Jeremiah Cattanach 4-11 11-13 19, Mitchell Susa 4-9 3-4 15, Cody Esser 3-6 0-0 7, Joe Meyers 1-5 2-2 5, Calvin Lenz 2-2 0-0 4, Bobby Pilz 0-1 1-3 1, Miles Weber 1-2 1-2 3, Spencer Susa 1-1 0-4 2, Nick Johnson 0-0 0-0. FG: 16-37. FT: 18-28. 3-pointers: 6-16 (M. Susa 4-8, Esser 1-2, Meyers 1-4, Pilz 0-1, Cattanach 0-1). Rebounds: 24 (Meyers 6, Weber 6). Assists: 7 (Pilz 2, Meyers 2). Turnovers: 19. Fouls: 9. Fouled out: none. Record: 2-0 overall and Cloverbelt East.
COLBY (44): Hunter Busse 8-15 2-2 20, Ryan Lynn 6-8 0-0 14, Trevor Buchholz 2-5 0-0 5, Josh Rahm 1-4 1-2 3, Jake Hoernke 1-8 0-0 2, Reggie Kellnhofer 0-0 0-0 0, Shane Schoelzel 0-1 0-0 0, Brad Bauer 0-1 0-0 0, Alex Peterson 0-0 0-0 0, Ty Raatz 0-0 0-0 0, Cody Parker 0-0 0-0 0. FG: 18-42. FT: 3-4. 3-pointers: 5-13 (Busse 2-7, Lynn 2-3, Buchholz 1-1, Rahm 0-2). Rebounds: 18 (Lynn 4, Buchholz 4). Assists: 4 (Busse 2). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: none. Record: 0-1 overall and Cloverbelt East.