SPASH Boys Basketball Tops Merrill
By Robert Whitmire
STEVENS POINT — The SPASH Boys Basketball team pulled out a hard fought 52 – 41 win over the Merrill Blue Jays Friday night at the fieldhouse. The win improves the Panthers Wisconsin Valley Conference record to 8 – 1. Merrill drops to 6 – 4.
Drew Blair led all scorers with 29 points as the Panthers hit thirteen 2-pointers, four 3-pointers and went 14 of 17 from the charity stripe.
Blair pulled down eight rebounds for the Panthers. Senior guard Drew Cullen put up 8 points and cleared four boards and Andrew Erdman hauled in nine rebounds and dished out two assists on the evening.
“We had to come out fast and have a lot of energy,” said senior Drew Cullen. “We know we can always score so it was defense that was our main focus in this game.”
The Blue Jays were led in scoring by junior Quinn Steckbauer with 16 points on the night. Zach Mootz and Chase Bonnell each added six.
The Panthers hit the road for a February 6 contest at Eau Claire Memorial, then return to conference play traveling to D. C. Everest February 9. Both games are set to tip at 7:15 pm
The SPASH junior varsity took a 49 – 47 double overtime win from the Blue Jays. Steffen James led the Panthers lighting up the board with 21 points. Austin Beyer added fourteen on the night.
Scoring:
SPASH Varsity: Drew Blair 29; Brennan Mueller 8; Drew Cullen 7; Andrew Erdman 5; Evan Vollendorf 2; Max Hofmeister 1.
Merrill: Quinn Steckbauer 16; Zach Mootz 6; Chase Bonnell 6; Kordell Renken 5; Jared Ollhoff 4; Nate Grefe 2; Michael Casper 2.
SPASH JV: Steffen James 21; Austin Beyer 14; Christian Zarazua 5; Kaleb Schulist 4; Isaac Eppinger 3; Brenden Klish 2.