SOLON- It took overtime for the varsity boys to claim their fourth consecutive basketball win.
The Spartans pulled out a 63-61 overtime victory against Beckman Catholic Dec. 16 in Solon.
The win, along with one earlier in the week at Anamosa, moved Solon to 5-1 overall and undefeated in WaMaC Conference action.
The Spartans and Blazers were tied, 52-52, at the end of regulation, but Solon outscored Beckman 11-9 in the extra period to pull out the victory.
Senior Jake Coons led the Solon scoring with 15 points, but junior guards Ben Krutzfeldt (14 points) and Luke Ira (11) and senior guard Sterling McIlravy (10) all kicked in with double digits.
Senior Zach Cusick had three blocked shots.
Jake Coons also led the team on the board with 12 (including five on the offensive glass). The Spartans had 17 offensive rebounds for the game.
That’s a good thing because both teams only shot 39 percent from the floor offensively.
Solon’s boys have been off to great first-quarter starts, but against the Blazers, they could only muster seven points and trailed early.
A 3-pointer by floor general Krutzfeldt brought the Spartans to within four points midway through the second period, but he picked up a third foul shortly thereafter and took a seat on the bench.
Freshman A.J. Coons missed a short jumper as time was running out in the half, but Beckman mishandled the rebound and Coons regained control, finding junior Luke Schaeckenbach under the basket for a contested layup.
Solon trailed by only four points, at the half, 25-21.
The Spartans outscored the Blazers 19-11 in the third period to wrest away the lead, but the Blazers clawed back in the fourth to knot the game at the end of four periods.
Solon had 21 assists on 24 made field goals, led by Krutzfeldt with eight.
“This is a special group of student-athletes who understand that a team means that everyone, and I mean everyone, has bought in, works hard and is challenged each day,” said Head Coach Jason Pershing. “We like to use the motto, ‘You are your brother’s keeper,’ and the players take that personally.
“All in all, they share the basketball in practice and especially in games, so the open man gets the shot,” Pershing said. “Having team success is more important than individual success, because when the team succeeds, we all succeed.”
The Spartans dropped Anamosa to 0-5 on the season with a 63-48 road win Dec. 13.
Solon drove out to a 20-13 first-quarter lead and extended it to a 16-point margin at the half. Nine of the 11 Solon players who saw time on the court scored.
Jake Coons led the team with 15 points, with 12 points from Krutzfeldt, 11 from Ira and eight from Cusick. The Spartans shot 43.5 percent from the 3-point line, with Krutzfeldt, Ira and Cusick a combined 9-17.
Jake Coons was the team’s leading rebounder with seven.
“Anamosa is an incredibly well-coached team, and the kids played super hard. We shared the ball, and assisted on 18 of our 25 made field goals,” Pershing said. “That helped us get off to a very good start and flow offensively. We had some lapses defensively, but I can never fault this team’s effort.”
Krutzfeldt and Ira led the team with five and four assists, respectively.
The Spartans are off to their best start under third-year coach Pershing.
Solon started last season 4-0 before dropping four straight, and in Pershing’s first season, the Spartans won their first three and lost the next five. In both years, Solon finished the season with a losing record, but last season the team was a surprise qualifier for the state basketball tournament and put a scare in the No. 1 seed.
“There are a lot of factors that lead to a successful program, one is talent, but opening the gym and working with your younger kids is a huge part of what we do,” Pershing said. “Also teaching kids at a young age to compete at a high level is key as well. Also, building a culture and system that is exciting to watch and encouraging to play for.
“My staff, past staff, and I operate our program from a place close to our hearts,” he added. “We coach because we care, love and truly want to establish relationships further than on the basketball court.
“That trickles down to the younger kids,” he continued. “We have ball boys now that will play for us, they come in the locker rooms and see the hard work and passion and caring that goes into the program. This is alongside with the training, gym availability, sacrifices and expectations that go into a tradition, our program.”
The Spartans closed out the year hosting Keokuk Dec. 20, and will resume play in 2017 with a tough road test against currently undefeated West Delaware Friday, Jan. 6.