By Robert Whitmire

The SPASH boys basketball team improved its Wisconsin Valley Conference record to 3-0 (9-1 overall) with a resounding 71-48 win over Merrill at the SPASH fieldhouse Friday night.

Merrill drops to 2-3.

Junior guard Drew Blair led all scorers lighting up the board with 21 points. Beau Rosenthal added 17 and Keon’te Williams chipped in 11 for SPASH. Blair leads the Valley Conference with a 28.5 per game scoring average.

Drew Blair fires up a 3-pointer vs. Merrill. Blair led all scorers with 21 points. (City Times photo)

Returning to the fieldhouse after wins over Hortonville (69-63) and Sussex Hamilton (55-37) in the Sentry Classic at UW-Stevens Point SPASH took control of the home floor early and jumped out to a 29-19 halftime lead.

SPASH hit 19 two-pointers, seven three-pointers and went 12 of 15 from the charity stripe.

“Our coach told us coming into the game that this team hustles a lot and that we’d have to bring it to beat them,” said senior Keon’te Williams.

“We brought really good intensity on defense and shared the ball on offense,” added Rosenthal. “Our next game is like any other game — we prepare ourselves like it’s our last game ever,” he added.

SPASH Scoring
Varsity: Drew Blair 21; Beau Rosenthal 17; Keon’te Williams 11; Brennan Mueller 8; Drew Cullen 4; Andrew Erdman 3; Brett Ehr 3; Logan Lewis 2; Travis Johnson 2.

The Panthers hit the road for two games traveling to D.C. Everest Tuesday, Jan. 10, and Wausau East on Friday Jan. 13. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 PM.

SPASH will return home Friday, Jan. 20 for a 7:30 PM game with Wausau West.