SPASH Stays Undefeated in WVC Play
By Ken McKenzie
The SPASH boys’ hoops team remain undefeated in Wisconsin Valley Conference action with their 62-41 win over D.C. Everest Friday.
The night was special on the front end and back end as Sam Hauser was honored for recently scoring his 1,000th career point as a Panther before the game and post-game announcements acknowledged the win as Coach Scott Anderson’s 100th while at the helm at SPASH.
The Panthers showed great focus right from the opening tip, quickly racing out to a 10-0 lead on an Andrew Ruzek put back, Sam Hauser’s tip-in and a pair of long three-pointers by Jamison Kryshak.
The Evergreen’s Jake Gebert answered with a trey and a soft toss crossing the lane with Hauser adding another tip in for a 12-5 Panther lead midway through the opening period. SPASH showed great patience and moved the ball deliberately before Kryshak had another open look in as he drained another three and Hauser hit a trey from the left corner for an 18-7 lead at 2:40 of the first quarter.
Sam Hauser then found brother, Joey, with a strong pass for an assist at 1:13 for 20-7 margin that stood at the break.
Mack Journell hit from the right baseline in between scores by the Evergreens and Trev Anderson knocked down a three from left high arc for a 25-11 advantage at 6:26 of the second.
Sam Hauser added a trey from the top of the key and Anderson added his second three on a second chance possession for SPASH at 3:43 to lead 31-14.
Sam Hauser added twin free throws and Joey Hauser knocked down back to back shots in final three minutes with Andrew Ruzek adding another score with Sam Hauser finishing the scoring of the half at 1:09 as he hit a jumper from the right baseline to give SPASH a 41-22 halftime advantage.
Anderson hit on twin threes early in the third to push the margin to 47-22; later adding a third one from right in front of the SPASH bench at 4:31 for a 50-24 lead as the rout continued. Ruzek cashed in off a nifty pass from Anderson that brought a stir from the crowd at 3:28. Sam Hauser hit yet another three-point shot at 1:53 and Joey Hauser hit both free throws after being fouled on a breakout at 1:27 as SPASH led 57-24.
DC Everest split a pair of free throws and connected on a backside pass for an easy score before Anderson hit his sixth trey on the night in the final seconds to close out the third at 60-27. The reserves mopped up and struggled to find any offensive rhythm as the Evergreens took advantage of less intense defense to outscore the hosts 14-2 in the final frame with T.J. Schrank getting the only bucket of the quarter to finish at 62-41.
On the night the Panthers knocked down an even dozen three-point shots with Kryshak and Sam Hauser each hitting three and Anderson scoring all his points from beyond the arc in netting six treys.
Coach Anderson gave credit to the various individuals who have served as his coaching staff and the quality effort by his various teams to this point when congratulated on his 100th win. “It’s no different than when players earn special individual awards,” said Anderson. “And it couldn’t be any truer with 100 win milestone as a coach; you don’t accomplish anything in a vacuum by yourself. What I treasure most is the relationships with coaches and the young men I’ve been privileged to work with that each helped make this happen.”
“The guys were eager to play in another game,” said Anderson. “Spending a week with me in practice might make them extra ready to have it be game night. We’ve had two good weeks of practice and that’s why we’re playing well; but it is the time of the season that you want to peak.”
Coach Anderson noted that next Thursday’s game with Wausau East will be senior night; bringing attention to the contributions of the trio of seniors: Andrew Ruzek, T.J. Schrank and Jake Erler; with hopes of another momentum builder as SPASH will then head into WIAA tournament time.
The Panthers now close out the regular season in hosting Wausau East and ready themselves for what’s ahead in WIAA tournament action with full bracket seedings available this Sunday with SPASH assigned to the Div. 1 Menasha sectional semi-final along with Appleton (East, North & West), Fond du Lac, Neenah, Oshkosh (North and West) and Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln. At this writing it’s conceivable that SPASH would be #1 seed and host the winner of #8 & #9 seeds on Friday, March 6.
All levels of boys’ action will open with regional action on March 3 and regional semis on March 6 and regional finals on March 7 with SPASH assigned to sectionals scheduled for winners on Thursday March 12 at Menasha and Sectional finals at Wausau West on Saturday, March 14.
Meanwhile Pacelli also anxiously awaits their seeding in the Div. 4 Antigo sub-regional amidst Auburndale, Edgar, Spencer, Stratford and #5 ranked and still undefeated Marathon. The Cardinals came out on the short end of a 55-44 score with Bonduel on Friday night.
SPASH Scoring: Kearney 0, Schrank 2, Kryshak 9, Erler 0, S. Hauser 17, Hofmeister 0, Anderson 18, Journell 2, Mallek 0, Williams 0, J. Hauser 8, Ruzek 6.