A 12-0 run to close out the third quarter and start the fourth propelled South O’Brien to a non-conference road win over Spirit Lake on Saturday in boys basketball. The Wolverines pulled away from a 21-all tie midway through the third to secure a 39-28 victory. The Indians were paced by Sawyer Harms, who fouled out in the fourth quarter with a team-high 12 points. Alec Henrickson hit three 3-pointers, one from 55-feet out to beat the halftime time buzzer, and finished with nine points. South O’Brien senior Adam Paulsen hit from inside and outside en route to a game-high 22 points, though the Wolverines converted just 6-of-16 free throws to keep Spirit Lake in the game late. The win propels South O’Brien to an 11-3 overall record. They play at West Sioux on Tuesday. The Indians, at 9-5 overall, travel to Cherokee on Tuesday for a Lakes Conference doubleheader on KUOO.
Click here for the postgame interview with Indians coach Nate Loenser.
Spencer and Estherville-Lincoln Central split a Lakes Conference twinbill Saturday. The second-ranked Midgets girls squad remained perfect in league play with a 61-28 trouncing of the Tigers. ELC sits at 9-0 in conference and 16-1 this season. Spencer drops to 4-5 in the Lakes and 8-7 this winter. The boys matchup was a bit tighter, with the Tigers earning a 47-38 road win. Matthew Klemme had thirteen points to lead Spencer, which boats a 5-4 conference mark and an even 7-7 overall. The Tigers host rival Emmetsburg on Tuesday for a doubleheader on Y100. The Estherville-Lincoln Central boys fall to 2-7 in the Lakes and 6-11 overall. A trip to Storm Lake for both ELC teams is set for Tuesday.
In other area basketball play, Ruthven-Ayrshire/Graettinger-Terril lost a non-conference boys game to Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn, 53-38, dropping the Raiders to 4-10 overall. George-Little Rock topped Sheldon in a Siouxland Conference boys’ game, 50-46. Sioux Central swept a doubleheader against South Central Calhoun. The Rebel girls continue their hot season doubling up SCC, 68-34, followed by an 80-50 route for the boys. Two games between North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted and Lake Mills ended in a split, as the Eagles took the boys battle, 58-50, but dropped the girls contest, 54-40. And in a girls only battle, fourth-ranked Bishop Heelan registered a 98-79 defeat over eighth-ranked Western Christian.
