Third quarter proves costly for Spartans

Hoping to snap their 5-game losing streak, the Exira-EHK Spartans boys basketball team started off Thursday’s home game strong against the Ar-We-Va Rockets leading at the end of the first quarter and tied at halftime, but the Rockets offense came alive in the second half, handing the Spartans a 69-56 loss.

“The guys are fighting hard,” said Spartan Head Coach Tony Santisteban. “We were taking care of the ball in the first half. That was the biggest difference, because it was tied at 29 at halftime. When we take care of the ball and be smart on offense, defensively we were getting our rotations down a little more.”

Spartan Senior Josh Nelson scored the first two buckets of the game before the Rockets got their first basket courtesy of a free throw from Junior Wyatt Ragaller. Nelson added a few more shots with the final two shots of the quarter coming from Junior Austin Rasmussen, and a 3-pointer from Freshman Blake Nelson to give his team a 19-14 lead.

The Rockets tied the game immediately in the second quarter with a 3-pointer from Senior Blayne Smith and a shot at the basket from Ragaller forcing a timeout from Santisteban. When play resumed, Rasmussen came down court and connected for a 3-pointer, but it was answered back with a 3-point shot from Smith.

The Rockets got their first lead of the game when Ragaller made a shot at the basket. However, the Spartans were able to get their lead back when Josh Nelson and Rasmussen made back-to-back 3-pointers, putting the Spartans up 29-26. With less than five seconds on the clock, Smith was able to make a 3-pointer to tie the game at 29.

“We needed to keep valuing the basketball like we had been,” Santisteban said. “That was by far our cleanest half that we had played all year with only having three turnovers. We were where we wanted to be.”

In the third quarter, the Rockets took command of the game on the offensive end of the floor going on a 21-2 run with the lone shot coming from Rasmussen from 3-point range. Towards the end of the quarter, the Spartans made a few shots from Josh Nelson, including a 3-pointer from Blake Nelson, but still trailed by 12.

The fourth quarter was evenly matched with both teams going on runs, but the Spartans were unable to overcome the Rockets and lost their sixth consecutive game, falling to 2-9 on the season.

The Spartans have a quick turnaround and Friday, the 4-8 Boyer Valley Bulldogs are coming to town. The Bulldogs are led by Sophomore Brody Koski averaging 11 points per game, and Junior Levi Reineke averaging 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

“We played Boyer Valley tough at the beginning of the year,” Santisteban said. “I’m sure they’ve improved throughout the year like we have. It’s going to be another battle. We’ve got to get on the horse and be ready to go.”