After losing eight seniors from last year’s team that won
its second consecutive WIAA Division 1 State Championship, the Stevens Point
Area Senior High School (SPASH) boys basketball team entered this season full
of question marks.

The Panthers’ lone returning starter, 6-8 All-State junior
forward Joey Hauser, was out indefinitely due to an ankle injury suffered in
football, as the team opened with five new starters in their lineup.

Following the return of Hauser and eventual starting senior
guard Spencer Tyson midway through the season, SPASH went through a 3-3
stretch, before the team came together in the playoffs and ended its season as
the WIAA Division 1 State Champions.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in us, so for our poster
(before the season), we said, ‘Prove a Point,’” said senior Keon’te Williams.
“And I guess we proved a point.”

“This year has been the most enjoyable one, just because of
the adversity we fought through,” said Joey Hauser. “The first two years, winning
the gold balls with my brother and all of those seniors was obviously really
fun, but this one is really special just considering that people doubted us.

“We had a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “We knew though,
if we played up to our ability, we could do this again.”

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