Despite a bevy of three-pointers in the fourth quarter by Cherokee, the Spirit Lake boys basketball team’s second half lead held up in a 56-42 conference win on Tuesday night. The Indians took the opposite approach, pounding the ball inside for 19 made field goals, led by Sawyer Harms’ nine buckets. Spirit Lake also made 16 free throws, compared to the six attempted by the Braves. Harms finished with a game-high 22 points, while Paul Brown contributed eleven points. Cherokee made one more three-pointer than two-point field goal in the game, including five triples in the fourth quarter. Three players reached double-figures, led by Eric Wilkie’s 16 points. He hit four three-pointers. The Braves fall to 0-3 in league play, while Spirit Lake improves to 2-1 in conference and 4-1 overall. They hit the road for the first time this winter on Friday to take on top-ranked Western Christian. Coverage can be heard on KUOO Campus Radio.
Click here for postgame interview with coach Nate Loenser.
A back-and-forth night of basketball in Emmetsburg extended into an additional four minutes before the Tigers outscored the rival E-Hawks by five in overtime to secure a 58-53 win. Matt Klemme paced all scorers with 25 points for Spencer, which boosts its record to 5-1 overall and a perfect 3-0 in the Lakes Conference. Emmetsburg, which has lost three straight games, received 15 points from Jake Jackson and another dozen from Zach Overberg. The E-Hawks fall to 1-2 in the league and 2-3 overall, with a trip to Storm Lake set for Friday. That contest can be heard on Y100.
Storm Lake handed Estherville-Lincoln Central its third loss in conference play, winning 64-53 on the Midgets home floor. The Tornadoes are 2-1 in conference, while ELC falls to 0-3.
Correction:A change from what was previously reported, LeMars topped number one-ranked Western Christian in a Lakes contest on the Bulldogs home floor, winning 57-43. The Wolfpack has one loss on the season.
Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn made it back-to-back wins in the War Eagle Conference, setting back Hinton, 54-46 on Tuesday. The Hawks are 2-1 in the league and 3-2 overall, with a trip to Gehlen Catholic coming up on Friday. The Jays will be fresh off a hard-fought seven-point win at South O’Brien, 48-41. The loss is the Wolverines first this season.
The Cornbelt Conference schedule consisted of a pair of games, with Graettinger-Terril/Ruthven-Ayrshire dropping a one-bucket ballgame to Ventura, 54-52, and North Sentral Kossuth/Armstrong-Ringsted handing Clay Central-Everly a 48-36 loss.
Over in the Siouxland Conference, front-runner MOC-Floyd Valley wasted little time with George-Little Rock in a 92-56 road win. Boyden-Hull notched a 56-48 decision over West Lyon. Sioux Center defended their home floor with a 61-44 triumph against Sibley-Ocheyedan. Sheldon knocked off Rock Valley, 72-48.
In other area games, Storm Lake St. Mary’s pounded out a 22-point victory over Sioux Central, 73-51.
North of the border, Jackson County Central fell for the third time this season, losing 69-47 to Mountain Lake/Butterfield-Odin. Martin County West settled for a 54-42 W at Truman.
