‘At this time of the year you want to be progressing’- Panthers win three of last four games
By Jacob Heid
Sports Writer
STEVENS POINT – The SPASH boys’ basketball team picked up its third win in four games, beating Wausau East 87-55 on Jan. 20.
The Panthers have won five of their last eight contests extending even further.
A few of those losses have only been by a possession or two.
The crowd filled the SPASH fieldhouse, and the players fed off of that in the win.
Coach Jon Krull knows how important it is to play your best at this point of the season.
“At this time of the year you want to be progressing,” Krull stated. “Progressing to your best 36 minutes, and then hopefully playing your best when it comes tournament time. These are great games for us to build our confidence and to be able to compete against conference opponents.”
Sophomore Grant Chandonais dominated his role early and often for the Panthers.
He pushed SPASH forward with 19 first-half points, mainly scoring from below the elbows.
The Panthers held onto a 16-point lead, 41-25.
One thing Krull saw that needed adjusting was being more physical on the glass.
“I think we were sound on defense, but we were just getting outworked,” Krull said. “We challenged them at halftime to get that changed. That is what good teams do. They make adjustments and change things right away, don’t let it linger. And I liked our start to the second half.”
The team came together offensively and put together a 46-point second-half performance.
Seniors Arriel Council Jr and Jack Diekelman and Chandonais played off each other’s strengths in the win.
Council Jr drilled three 3-pointers, having 13 of his 18 points after the break.
Krull spoke about the difference beginning of the year to now with his young team.
“I would say it’s confidence. I mean, we lack some experience. We graduated seven seniors, a lot of minutes, with not a lot of minutes coming back,” Krull explained. “We are kind of starting to catch it on both ends of the floor right now. We have stuff to improve on, obviously, on both ends, but I like how we’re progressing day in and day out.”
