Spartans stomp Tigers to remain undefeated

Junior Aiden Flathers led the way for the Spartans Thursday night with 20 points against the Woodbine Tigers, defeating them in dominant fashion 64-31 for EHK’s eighth win of the season.

“Our depth has been something that has helped us out quite a bit,” said Spartans Head Coach Doug Newton. “Some of these guys have been playing a lot since they were freshman and sophomores and now are upperclassmen and some of it is their confidence.”

The first quarter got off to a fast start by both team matching each other bucket-for-bucket. Shortly after, the Spartans went on a run that led to Flathers dropping a buzzer beater to end the first quarter giving the Spartans a 14-6 lead.

The second quarter got underway with the Spartans keeping their foot on the gas pedal going on a 7-0 run that forced Tigers head coach Kyle Bartels to call a timeout. The timeout didn’t affect the Spartans much, who expanded their run by another seven points, forcing another Woodbine timeout.

The Tigers managed to drop a few buckets before halftime, but the Spartans took a sizeable 37-13 lead into the locker room.

“We just talked about trying to make sure we tried to get as many of the 50/50 balls as we can,” Newton said. “We got about six offensive rebounds in the first half that helped extend possessions for them. A lot of times on offensive rebounds, there’s a good chance they’re going to go back in. A lot of times, it can lead to a foul as well.”

The Spartans never lost momentum as they cruised throughout the second half with 16 points in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth. Seniors Derrek Kommes, Easton Nelson and Junior Jackson Radcliff scored 9 points each for the Spartans. Junior Jonas LaCanne added 8 points.

The win was the Spartans eighth of the season, keeping them undefeated, and handed the Tigers its second loss, moving their record to 5-2. The Spartans next opponent will be the 0-5 Paton-Churdan Rockets Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

“We want to treat them all like they’re big ones,” Newton said. “We’ve got a big grinder going on here, but everyone else has the same thing too. You just need to take it one day at a time, find a way to win and move onto the next one.”