Spartans silence Wheelers with dominant second half
With just over five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Junior Cash Emgarten had a slam dunk for the Spartans that got the crowd to its feet en route to a 65-46 second half victory over the Audubon Wheelers.
“He’s just so athletic,” said Spartans Head Coach Doug Newton on Emgarten. “We want him to go take it to the hole more. He’s kind of got springs in his feet. Rather than sit out on the perimeter and shoot the shot, I’d rather him go in there where somebody has to really work to guard him. His passing has improved a lot since the break.”
Five seconds into the game, Senior Wheeler Carson Bauer got his team on the board with the first bucket of the game. The Wheelers had a 4-0 run going, when Junior Jackson Radcliff got the Spartans on the board with a 3-point shot from downtown.
Senior Trey Petersen was fouled soon after on a shot attempt, sending him to the line of scrimmage where he made the extra point, giving the Spartans a 6-4 lead.
The Spartans continued to drop baskets that led to an 11-0 run, which forced Wheelers head coach Jacob Privia to call a timeout.
The Spartans weren’t affected by the timeout taking a 23-10 lead into the second quarter. The Wheelers turned the tables on the Spartans starting off the quarter with an 11-2 run, forcing Newton to use one of his timeouts with just over four minutes remaining and the Spartans hanging on to a 4-point lead.
The Spartans got back in command for the remainder of the quarter, taking a 34-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“The second quarter I thought we were kind of catching it and thinking a little bit, rather than catching it and just going,” Newton said. “Then we came out in the third quarter and played like we had the start of the game and got a 10-point lead and got it up closer to 20 real quick.”
Emgarten got the Spartans going in the third quarter with the first bucket, giving his team a 12-point lead. Senior Easton Nelson was fouled a minute into the quarter sending him to the line of scrimmage where he made both his free throw attempts. On the next possession, Nelson made another bucket giving the Spartans a 16-point lead.
The Spartans led the way with a 14-2 run before Privia called a timeout with just under four minutes remaining in the quarter and his team trailing by 22 points. A few more buckets were exchanged by both teams, with the Spartans taking a sizeable 24-point lead into the final quarter.
The first bucket of the fourth quarter was made by the Wheelers, but not long following that bucket, Emgarten made a 3-pointer and then followed it up with a slam dunk on the next possession that lit up the Spartans fan base.
The Wheelers made a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the Spartans were victorious, winning their second game in a row and their 11th on the season.
“Everything’s been clicking,” Emgarten said. “We’ve been hitting our shots, we’ve been practicing really hard and we’ve been getting to the paint and finishing.”
The Spartans will have a few days to rest before heading out on the road to take on the 3-6 Ar-We-Va Rockets, who are coming off a 53-34 loss Friday night to the CAM Cougars. The Rockets are led by Junior Emmett Neumann with 74 points, Senior Kyelar Cleveland with 64 rebounds and Sophomore Blaine Smith with 26 assists.
“We just have to continue on what we’ve been doing and it’s been working, so we just want to keep doing it,” Emgarten said.