SOLON — As December made its dramatic (and frigid) debut, so did Solon Spartans boys’ basketball. In the warmth of their home gym, the Spartans welcomed former conference opponent and rival, the Maquoketa Cardinals, to compete in both teams’ season openers on Tuesday, December 3rd.
Things set off as sneakers made their way into the air, rewarding the Cardinals with the first possession of the game, yet with the little amount of scoring from both ends, the scoreboard remained empty for the first few minutes of the quarter.
As their previous five starters and three other influential pieces from last season graduated, the questions and expectations surrounding the newly adjusting Spartan team remain vast, as last year’s group only had one regular season loss and plowed their way to the regional semifinals later on. Now, as the first sixteen minutes of the 2024-2025 season dialed down, the ever-changing Spartans roster struggled, beginning their reign of turnovers and missing the majority of their shots, shooting for only 20%.
“I know we’re gonna get a lot better, we’re trying to develop cohesiveness and consistency,” head coach Jared Galpin said. “We’re young, inexperienced, we make mistakes, but I know we’re going to get better at what we’re doing.”
With halftime giving them a chance to regroup, the Spartans returned from the locker room with a new spark of momentum and used it to their advantage, earning them their first win over the Cardinals, 58-50—but it did not come easy. The Spartans finished with 16 turnovers and shot 35.7%, only making 24 out of their 64 shots. They pulled through thanks to the leadership of senior Caleb Bock, who racked up 21 points, putting himself as the only player to reach double digits on both ends.
“Big game, I mean, that’s what I expect out of him. He’s a super athletic kid. Good on the glass, good on the rim, good at finishing. That was huge for us,” Galpin said. “He got good experience last year, now it’s his time to shine and he had a great game today to do so.”
Knowing he would be one of the new leaders of the pack, Bock channeled his role from the opening tip, taking shots from all angles, snatching rebounds, forcing turnovers and earning roars from the crowd with a couple of massive blocks, diminishing any momentum the Cardinals brought onto the court.
“A lot of guys were role players last year on our team, but we’re growing into new roles. They’re taking more leadership roles, they have more emphasis to be guys that are gonna be scorers and defenders for us,” Galpin said of Bock’s increased role on this year’s team.
Other players on Galpin’s watch list—seniors Nolan Seagren, Isaiah Zoske and Jackson Link—stepped up alongside Bock, combining for 19 points. The game stayed close throughout all four quarters as the lead differences never exceeded single digits and Galpin energetically barked his instructions from the sideline.
Keeping the Spartans’ momentum on pace, Galpin’s energy from the bench lasted from tipoff to when the final buzzer sounded.
During timeouts, the head coach shrunk to his knees, leveled himself with his players and talked to them face-to-face, going into detail about how to improve and adjust.
“Maquoketa we’ve played in the past, they want to push the ball, and the biggest thing is getting back, transitions and then making them earn it,” Galpin explained regarding his coaching style. “They had man-to-man zones, so we had to talk about that, make some adjustments and I thought our guys responded to it well as the game went on.”
Galpin and the Spartans will continue to build off this mindset as they become more comfortable as a group, looking to maintain their second-half momentum in full throughout all future games.