SOLON — The varsity Spartans improved to 15-0 on the season as they took on and defeated Marion, Center Point-Urbana (CPU), and Regina Catholic.
Solon 70 Marion 54
The boys traveled to Marion last Tuesday as the No. 4 team in Class 3A while the Wolves were ranked No. 8 in the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s (IHSAA) Jan. 22 rankings. The Spartans pulled out to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first and held a 33-26 advantage at halftime before leading 47-28 going into the final quarter.
“Going to Marion is always a challenge,” said Coach Jared Galpin. “It is a tough but great atmosphere for a basketball game. We knew Marion was going to play us tough. They are a good team. They came out and face guarded Jake Benzing. We put an emphasis on starting fast and we did a good job of that. Marion did a great job of going inside to their post. Jake hit some tough shots. They were guarding him so close. We would build a lead and Marion would come back. We would get up by nine or ten points and then they would chip it away. They went to a triangle and two on Jake and Rylen Stiegelmeyer in the 4th quarter and cut our lead to 2. Gehrig Turner hit two consecutive 3-pointers to extend our lead and we finished the game strong.”
Benzing led all with 19 points including three from outside the 3-point arc, Stiegelmeyer had 15 points with 14 from Vince Steinbrech, nine from Turner, seven by Caleb Bock, and six from Austin Knight. Brett White led Solon with seven rebounds and Steinbrech made eight assists.
Solon 69 CPU 46
Unranked CPU visited Friday for Senior Night where eleven Spartans – Austin Knight, Rylen Stiegelmeyer, Jackson Messenger, Brett White, Vince Steinbrech, Jake Benzing, Jace Janssen, Gehrig Turner, Will Cusick, Brayden Miller, and Gavin Chhabra-Miller were recognized.
Solon took a 13-10 lead at the end of the first and held a five-point halftime advantage at 28-23. The Pointers stayed close, trailing only by six at 48-42 going into the fourth.
“I knew this was going to be a tough game,” Galpin said. “CPU has been playing much better basketball lately. It was a close game, but we were able to extend the lead in the 4th quarter. Rylen shot the ball well and we guarded well. Our defense has been pretty solid the past few games.”
Benzing led all with 18 points, Stiegelmeyer put up 16, and Steinbrech produced ten points. Turner had an eight-point night with four points from Knight, three apiece from Janssen, Bock, and Jackson Link, and two points each from Messenger and White. Steinbrech pulled down seven rebounds.
Solon 69 Regina Catholic 44
Solon and Iowa City Regina tangled in a non-conference game on Saturday with the Spartans taking an 18-9 lead at the end of the first and enjoying a 35-23 halftime lead. Solon grew their lead to 54-35 in the third to put the game away.
“Regina is a solid team,” said the coach. “They are big and have good scoring. We made it a point to cover up Michael Martin (Regina’s points leader), rebound on both ends of the floor, and share the ball. We got off to a fast start on offense and guarded well on defense. Caleb Bock was efficient. He went 5 of 5 in field goals and 2 for 2 in free throws for 12 points. He gave us great minutes. We had a comfortable 12-point lead at the half, but we knew we needed to come out fast again in the 3rd quarter. Vince Steinbrech scored 12 of his game high 21 in the 3rd quarter and hit the boards hard.”
Steinbrech led all with his 21-point performance. Turner had an 11-point game with nine from Benzing, six from Link, four by Knight, and two points each from Karsyn Regenniter, White, and Chhabra-Miller. Steinbrech led all in rebounds with nine.
Spartans 4th in IHSAA rankings, continue to lead the WaMaC East
Solon held the No. 4 spot in 3A in the weekly rankings put out by the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s Jan. 29 rankings. Solon continued to reign unchallenged in the WaMaC East standings with an 11-0 conference standing followed by Marion (10-4/6-2), Mount Vernon (11-5/5-3), Independence (7-7/4-7), CPU (2-13/2-8), and West Delaware (1-14/1-8).
Upcoming events
Friday, Feb. 2 – Girl-boy doubleheader at Mount Vernon. JV girls and soph boys at 4:30 p.m., varsity girls and freshmen boys at 6:00 p.m., and varsity boys at 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3 – JV and varsity girls at West Delaware (rescheduled from Jan. 12), JV at 2:30 p.m., varsity at 4:00 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 6 – Girl-boy doubleheader at home vs. Independence, JV girls and soph boys at 4:30 p.m., varsity girls and freshmen boys at 6:00 p.m., frosh-soph girls at 7:00 p.m., and varsity boys at 7:15 p.m.
“I’m extremely proud of the boys, said Galpin. “They are playing hard and guarding hard. On to next week.”
Gehrig Turner puts up a shot while sandwiched between a pair of Stormin’ Pointers last Friday at home on Senior Night. Turner, a senior, had a nine-point night including a pair of back-to-back 3’s.