Spirit Lake and Spencer exchanged leads for most of the third quarter, however, the Indians assumed control heading into the fourth and went on to defeat the rival Tigers, 50-44, in Lakes Conference boys basketball Friday. Paul Brown did the heavy work early, scoring twelve of his game-high 17 points in the first half, while Wes Bergquist made numerous clutch baskets in the second half on his way to eleven points for the Indians. Matthew Klemme was the lone Tiger to reach double figures, hitting for ten points. Spencer, falling for the sixth consecutive game, owns an overall record of 5-7 and a league mark of 3-4, with a home game against Cherokee set for Tuesday. The win for Spirit Lake surpasses last season’s overall win total, with the Indians sitting at 8-5 after four straight victories. They have also equaled their conference output from last winter at 5-2. It’s a quick turnaround, however, as county rival Okoboji comes to play in Spirit Lake on Saturday, with KUOO providing the coverage.
Click here for the postgame interview with Paul Brown and coach Nate Loenser.
Emmetsburg snapped a six-game conference losing streak with a road victory over Cherokee on Friday, defeating the Braves, 69-56. Tied at 29 after a rough second quarter, the E-Hawks opened the third quarter on a 13-0 run to assume control. Michael Wolff was one of four players in double figures for Emmetsburg, scoring a team-high 24 points. Cherokee’s Eric Wilkie dropped in a game-high 31. The E-Hawks get back to even at 6-6 on the season and are now 2-5 in the Lakes. A trip to Estherville on Tuesday will be carried by Y100.
The league’s top team remained undefeated in conference play, as eighth-ranked LeMars defended their home floor in a 71-56 win over Storm Lake. Western Christian handed Estherville-Lincoln Central a 65-31 setback.
Okoboji had few answers on either end of the floor, as they were handed a 75-40 home loss by visiting Sioux Center on Friday. The Warriors committed just three turnovers in the game, while Pioneers handed the ball over thirteen times. Keith Oskvig paced Okoboji with ten points, while the balanced attack of Sioux Center featured six players in double digits, led by Micah Lassen’s thirteen. The loss puts the Pioneers at 1-10 in the Siouxland Conference and 1-12 overall. Saturday night they travel north to battle country rival Spirit Lake on KUOO.
Click here for the postgame interview with coach Ryan Paulsen.
Elsewhere in the Siouxland, Sibley-Ocheyedan snapped a nine-game losing streak by picking up a 72-58 win against George-Little Rock. Fourth-ranked Boyden-Hull pounded on Sheldon, 58-39. Central Lyon routed Rock Valley by 36, winning 66-30. League front-runner MOC-Floyd Valley secured a 74-58 conference win at West Lyon.
Over in the Cornbelt, Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire tallied a 48-34 victory over CWL, their third consecutive victory and fourth overall. Clay Central-Everly had some issues finding the basket against West Bend-Mallard, suffering a 56-14 loss on Friday.
In other area games, Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn narrowly lost a home War Eagle contest to Marcus-Meridan-Cleghorn, 36-33. South O’Brien easily defeated West Sioux, 70-24, and Sioux Central earned a lopsided 84-58 decision over Southeast Webster-Grand.
North of the border, Southwest Star Concept took down Edgerton, 60-42, while Worthington fell by a 68-60 final to Redwood Valley.
