SOLON- With Playoffs looming, the (13-4) Solon Spartans had one last regular season game to keep the momentum rolling.
The Solon Spartans ended their regular season on a six-game win streak, winning 85-50 over the Washington Demons (9-13). The Spartans dominated in the paint and were led by Senior Caleb Bock, who had a 31-point performance—shooting 13/15 (87%) from the field.
“I knew I was bigger, I just sat in the paint and let my teammates get me the ball.” Bock said postgame.
He also mentioned how his first instinct is to drive to the hoop and get the best opportunity to score points.
With Playoffs coming up, one of the main focuses will be to get off to a stronger start. On Friday night, they found themselves going back and forth in the first quarter, giving up three shots from behind the arc and two free throws to add on, ultimately finding themselves down 13-12 after one.
Head Coach Jared Galpin mentioned the struggles in the first quarter, saying, “ I wasn’t very happy how we started.” He also noted that the team seemed sluggish and slow to get to spots.
Solon got back on track as Bock got things started in the second quarter. Bock drove to the basket, was fouled, turning him 180 degrees, and still was able to get the shot down. Senior Jackson Link also got involved, hitting three of his five total threes in the quarter. This display of offense proved to be too much for Washington as the Spartans found themselves up 37-26 at the half.
“We woke up.” Coach Galpin stated, seeming much more pleased with how the second set of eight minutes went by than the first.
Coming out of the break, Washington had no answer for Bock as he scored 15 of the team’s first 22 points. Sophomore Maddox Kelley had no problem sharing the rock. He accounted for four assists, including a steal, finding Bock and Senior Isaiah Zoske twice each within the 2:21 of the quarter, jumping the lead to 51-28. In the following two minutes, Bock did it all on the floor as he got a layup, went two for two at the stripe, got a steal, and then added two more layups, bringing his total to 24. Sophomore Kaden Hoeper closed the quarter with a steal of his own and took it all the way for two, making it a 61-38 game.
The Starters didn’t see much action in the fourth, as the lead was insurmountable. This allowed guys like Junior, Tyler Greazel, and Junior Ryan Locke to get more playing time. The Crowd was able to come back to life after Locke got a steal and took it himself for two. The fourth quarter didn’t slow down for the new-look Spartans as they gathered 24 points to Washington’s 12.