Spartans knocked off state-ranked Warriors

With temperatures outside hovering around 1 above Saturday night, the Superior High School boys basketball team heated things up inside the SHS gym with a 76-60 win over the Rice Lake Warriors.

The Warriors entered the game ranked No. 3 among Division 2 schools in Wisconsin, but it was the Spartans who jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back.

Superior went on to lead 23-16 after the first quarter, 41-27 at the half and 57-45 after three quarters.

Erick Tunell led the Spartans with 17 points, nine steals and eight assists. Nick Mehlum added 16 points, Ben Erickson had 15 points and six rebounds and Derek Kontny had 11 points.

Henry Ellenson, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, led Rice Lake with 30 points and 18 rebounds despite sitting out a stretch of about six minutes in the second half with four fouls.

Superior (11-2) also got six points from Bryan Sanders, five points from Anthony Valentine, four from Jordan Hughes and two from Carter Anderson.

The Spartans now play three straight games on the road beginning with Duluth East on Tuesday and Ashland Friday. Both games begin at 7:15 p.m. They also play at Chippewa Falls at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 29.

SPARTAN SPIN: The SHS JV fell to 11-2 with a 61-53 loss to Rice Lake’s JV. The Spartans were led by Nate Sanders’ 16 points. John Lindberg added nine points and Jake Libal had eight. … The Superior freshmen improved to 11-0 with a 51-30 win.

Rice Lake 16-11-18-15—60

Superior 23-18-14-19—76

Superior: Ben Erickson 15; Jordan Hughes 4; Carter Anderson 2; Nick Melhum 16; Derek Kontny 11; Bryan Sanders 6; Erick Tunell 17; Anthony Valentine 5.

3-point basketball: Tunell 2; Kontny 2. Free throws: 12-of-17.

Rice Lake: Widdes 3; Adam West 5; MaGee 2; Henry Ellenson, 30; Christman 7; Ellwoood Ellenson 10; Austin Angel 3.

3-point baskets: Widdes, West, H. Ellenson, Christman. Free throws: 10-of-12.

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