The Superior High School boys basketball team moved into a tie for first place in the Lake Superior Conference with a 57-46 win at Duluth Central Tuesday night.
The Spartans improve to 8-2 overall and 4-0 in the LSC. Cloquet was also 4-0 in league play heading into Tuesday night's action.
Central falls to 2-9 and 1-4.
"You could tell that we haven't played in 13 days," SHS coach Dave Kontny said. "We came out sluggish and Central played well offensively and defensivley.
"But we were able to do good things too, and we picked up the win and that's all that counts."
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Brent Engstrom led Superior with 19 points. Joel Lindberg added 15 points, Garrett Wessberg had eight, Chris Blake and Andy Heytens had four each, Zach Colvin had three and Joe Reichert and Josh Kimmes chipped in with two apiece.
Quinten Witherspoon led Central with 15 points and Montel Chapman added 12.
The Spartans host Duluth Marshall in a four-point LSC game at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
Hockey falls
The Hermantown Hawks powered past the Superior High School boys hockey team 8-2 Tuesday night in Hermantown.
The loss drops the Spartans to 10-4 overall and 2-2 in the Lake Superior Conference. Hermantown improves to 14-1 and 3-0.
Four of the Hawks' goals came on power plays.
Pat Dalbec scored both of Superior's goals. The first was assisted by Taylor Leuthner and Kellen McCoshen. The second was assisted by Chris Bishop.
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Matt Miller finished with 25 saves for Superior and Ben Tessier had 18 for Hermantown.
The Spartans return to action at 8 p.m. Thursday when they host the Cloquet Lumberjacks. The game was postponed last week by cold weather.
SPARTAN SPIN: The SHS junior varsity lost 3-2. Superior got a goal and an assist from Taylor Olson and a goal from Cody Spencer.
'Greens stun Clayton
It was a goal of the Northwood High School girls basketball team from the start of the season. In fact, it's been a goal of the Evergreen girls for a few seasons now -- defeat Clayton.
Heading into Tuesday's game with Northwood, Clayton was undefeated on the year and held an unbeaten streak in the Central Lakeland Conference dating back four years.
But in double overtime Tuesday, the Evergreen girls finally claimed victory over the Bears, 52-48.
Clayton defeated Northwood 36-10 last season to claim the conference title.
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Still undefeated
The Northwestern girls basketball team remained perfect in the Heart O' North Conference Tuesday with a 49-38 win over Ladysmith Tuesday night at home.
The Tiger girls are now 7-0 in the HON and 8-2 overall. Ladysmith, which has averaged about 60 points per game this season, gave NHS a challenge in their last meeting, with the Tigers coming away with a 2-point victory.
Fourth quarter scoring and free-throw shooting helped NHS to the win as the Tigers held a 15-5 scoring advantage in the final period and made 10-of-12 shots from the line. For the game, NHS was 13-for-18 from the free-throw line.
Lindsay Taipale led the Tigers with 14 points. Northwestern also finished with six shots from behind the arc, two each from Taylor Prior and Cassidy Stolzman and one apiece from Lindsay Garay and Carinda Larson.
The Tigers host Spooner Friday and then face Hayward Monday in a make-up game.
Eagle boys soar
Four Solon Springs players scored in double figures Tuesday night as the Eagle boys defeated Lakeview Christian Academy, 63-25.
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In the first quarter alone, the Eagles nearly equaled Lakeview's output for the entire game, taking a 23-8 lead. Tyler Luebbe had eight points in the quarter, Ryne Slivensky had six and Alex Rowe added five.
The Eagles held their opponents to just four points in the second quarter to take a 39-12 lead at halftime. Lakeview tallied a total of 13 points in the second half as Solon Springs won, 63-25.
Luebbe led the Eagles in scoring for the game with 16 points. Slivensky finished with 11 points and Tyler Garvey and Phil Larson added 10 points each. Rowe nearly broke into double digits with nine points, Cole Klinzing had two field goals for four points and Tyler LaRose hit a 3-pointer.
Eagle girls lose
The Solon Springs High School girls basketball team fell to Mellen Monday night, 45-34, at home.
The Eagles are 3-6 overall and a 2-5 in the Indianhead Conference. Mellen is 7-2 and 6-2.
Mellen took the lead right away, outscoring Solon Springs 17-9 in the first quarter. The Eagles stayed with Mellen in the second, but another strong effort in the third quarter put Mellen up 39-25. Solon Springs held a 9-6 scoring advantage in the final quarter, but it wasn't enough to close the gap.
Leading the Eagles was Rachel Hanley with 13 points. Lorin Larson added 12 points.
