SOLON — It was Mustang Week for the varsity boys basketball team last week as they received a visit from rival Mount Vernon on Tuesday and traveled to Independence (Indee) Friday, putting up two more wins and improving to 11-0 overall (9-0 WaMaC East). The Spartans were ranked fourth in Class 3A in the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Jan. 22 rankings behind Clear Lake, ADM, and Waverly-Shell Rock, and were at the top of the WaMaC East.
The rival Mustangs came charging out of the gate and led 13-2 halfway through the first period. After a timeout by Coach Jared Galpin the Spartans came alive with a pair of three-point baskets and a field goal from Gehrig Turner, who also opened the game for Solon with a two-point basket. Jake Benzing and Caleb Bock added a bucket each as the Spartans trailed 17-14 at the end of the first period. A pair of Vince Steinbrech baskets cut the gap to 19-18 and concerned the Mustangs enough to take a time out. Steinbrech went to the line for two free throws resulting in a 20-19 lead. Steinbrech fed the ball to Austin Knight for an easy two-pointer and a 23-19 lead before making a steal, quick run, and a bunny hop for another two-pointer making it 25-19. Benzing closed out the half with a bucket for a 27-19 halftime advantage.
Solon went up 41-25 with 3:04 left in the third after Austin Knight, Rylen Stiegelmeyer, Bock, and Turner scored. Turner got the ball to Benzing for the first of two back-to-back three-pointers. Isaiah Zoske drained a buzzer beating three-pointer for a 48-30 lead to close out the quarter.
Mount Vernon’s Jackson Kutcher led all with 21 points including five three-pointers. The Spartans were led by Turner with 15 points, Steinbrech with 14, and Benzing with a dozen. Knight, Brett White, and Bock produced four points each with three from Zoske and two from Stiegelmeyer. Bock led in rebounds with eight, Benzing pulled down six, and Turner made six assists.
“I was anxious about approaching such a big game against No. 10 Mt. Vernon,” Coach Galpin said. “We hadn’t practiced much prior since school was cancelled for so many days.” The guys were ready to play however, he said. “We got down to start the game, Jackson Kutcher got off to a hot start and we didn’t. Gehrig Turner carried us and kept us close in the first quarter (scoring Solon’s first ten points). When Kutcher went out of the game with his third foul in the second quarter, we were able to go on a run of our own.”
Galpin credited the Spartans’ zone defense calling it really effective. “It helped turn defense into offense. Caleb Bock gave us great minutes off the bench. We had great balance in scoring as well.”
Solon 75 Independence 35
The Spartans hammered Indee with a 22-point assault in the first period and led 42-18 at halftime. A 17-point effort in the third made it 59-28 as Solon cruised to the win outscoring the Mustangs 16-7 in the final eight minutes.
Turner led all scorers with 18 points, Steinbrech had 13, and Benzing put up 12 with ten from Bock. Stiegelmeyer had an eight-point game, Jace Janssen produced six with two points apiece from Knight, Karsyn Regenniter, Whie, and Jackson Link. White had a game high nine rebounds and five assists in the contest.
“Independence can pose challenges,” said the Coach. “They have three very good guards and they run their sets well. The guys built off the win on Tuesday night, and we made it a point to come out fast. We got the ball to the basket and got stops. It helped build our lead to ten points at the end of the 1st quarter. We kept the pace up in the 2nd quarter and had a comfortable halftime lead. I was very pleased with the team’s defense and rebounding. Brett White and Caleb Bock gave us great energy off the bench. Caleb came in and scored a quick ten points. Brett led the team with rebounds and assists. He made a lot of hustle plays for us. It was a great team win.”
Upcoming events
Coach Galpin said “This week is a big week for us. We play a very good Marion team (Tuesday, Jan. 23 after this issue had gone to print). This game has implications on the conference championship.” Marion was ranked No. 8 in Class 3A. “We have senior night on Friday night against CP-U, and Saturday, we play a very good Regina team that just beat the #3 ranked team in 2A.”
Friday, Jan. 26 – HOME girl-boy doubleheader vs. CPU. JV girls/freshman boys at 4:30 p.m., varsity girls/sophomore boys at 6:00 p.m., and varsity boys at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 27 – HOME girl-boy doubleheader vs. Regina Catholic. JV girls/soph boys at 1:30 p.m., varsity girls/frosh boys at 3:00 p.m., and varsity boys at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 30 – HOME girl-boy doubleheader vs. West Delaware. JV girls/frosh boys at 4:30 p.m., varsity girls/soph boys at 6:00 p.m., and varsity boys at 7:15 p.m.
WaMaC East standings (1/22/24)
Conf. Overall
Solon 9-0 12-0
Marion 4-1 9-3
Mount Vernon 4-2 10-4
Independence 3-6 5-6
CPU 1-7 1-11
W. Delaware 1-7 1-12
Caleb Bock goes up for two points last Tuesday night against Mount Vernon. Bock had four points in a 58-45 win.