Spartan boys get back to winning ways

The Superior High School boys basketball team turned a two-game losing skid into a two-game winning streak with wins over the Ashland Oredockers and Proctor Rails.

The Spartans defeated Ashland 71-47 Friday night then downed Proctor 58-41 Tuesday night. Both games were played in the SHS gym.

Superior improved to 9-6 overall and 5-2 in the Lake Superior Conference. Proctor falls to 7-10 and 2-7.

The Spartans led early 13-3 before Proctor battled back to get within 21-18 with less than four minutes remaining in the half.

Superior ended the first half with a 10-3 run for a 31-21 lead.

The Spartans maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half, including 22 points, 58-36, on a Ryan Kelleher basket with less than two minutes remaining.

“It was a nice win for us tonight,” SHS coach Dave Kontny said. “Senior night is always special and the crowd was great again. It was really nice having all the cheerleaders and the dance team there as well as they work so hard during the season and how about the young kids performing their cheers at halftime? Wow it was a great night for SHS and its fans.”

Erick Tunell led Superior in scoring with 16 points. Derek Kontny added 10 points and Ben Erickson and Spencer Urban each had seven.

“I thought our kids really played smart on defense, any time you hold a team to 41 you’re doing something right,” coach Kontny said. “I also liked our patience on offense, our players are starting to see the value in executing and getting good looks. And I liked our balance as we had eight different guys in the scoring column and our turnovers were minimal again and that is so important and something we have worked hard to eliminate every day in practice.”

Anders Voss led Proctor with 10 points.

“Give Proctor credit, their new coach, P.J. Freeman, did a really nice job tonight and he had his kids prepared. He’s going to do a really good job there.”

Superior hosts Eau Claire North at 3 p.m. Saturday.

SPARTAN SPIN: Seniors, and their parents, honored before the game were Colton Lorenz, Kelleher and Cody Hunt. Also honored were seniors of the cheerleading squad and the dance line team. … Freeman is a Northwestern High School graduate. … The SHS JV (6-9) won 71-37 behind 13 points from Anthony Valentine. ... The Spartan freshmen also improved to 14-0 with an 86-16 win. Devon Rivord led the way with 20 points.

Proctor 21-20—41

Superior 31-27—58

Proctor — Jacob White 4, Tyler Schubert 7, Charles Burns 4, Brett Pinney 3, Kaz Anderson 9, Jordan Carey 4, Anders Voss 10. Totals 17 2-6 41.

3-point goals — Schubert, Pinney, Anderson 3.

Superior — Colton Lorenz 2, Ben Erickson 7, Jordan Hughes 4, Nick Mehlum 6, Derek Kontny 10, Erick Tunell 16, Spencer Urban 7, Ryan Kelleher 6. Totals 24 7-11 58.

3-point goals — Konty 2, Tunnel.

Spartans 71, Dockers 47

Going into the Ashland game, the Spartans were coming off losses to Rice Lake and Duluth East.

“It was a good game for us to one, be back at home, and two, to get in the win column again,” SHS coach Dave Kontny said. “I thought we set the tone early with our pressure and did a nice job offensively moving the ball and getting some great open looks.

“Our kids looked determined, even in the locker room, and were hungry for a chance to win. I liked the fact we moved the ball well without turning it over when Ashland extended their defense.”

Derek Kontny led the Spartans with 21 points. Twelve of his points came on four 3-point baskets. Erick Tunell added 14 points; Nick Melhum had eight; Colton Lorenz and Spencer Urban had seven apiece; Jordan Hughes, six; Ryan Kelleher, four; Ben Erickson and Anthony Valentine, two apiece.

“One of our goals was to have less than 10 turnovers, and it was nice to reach that goal,” Kontny said. “Everyone also got a chance to play a lot, and we had nine out of 10 players get in the scoring column.”

Bryce Hall and Brett Hulmer led Ashland (1-11, 0-5) with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Tyler Hunt also had seven points and Kevin Huybrecht had six.

SPARTAN SPIN: Superior will play the rest of the season without senior Cody Hunt, who suffered an undisclosed leg injury during practice. … Superior was 11-of-19 from the free-throw line, compare to Ashland’s 6-of-14. … The SHS JV avenged an earlier loss to Ashland with a 50-40 win. Quelvel Aiken led the way with 19 points. … The SHS freshman improved to 13-0 with a 66-22 win.

Superior 36 35 — 71

Ashland 14 33 — 47

Tags: sports, spartans, basketball, proctor, updates