As the Solon boys basketball team’s season keeps progressing, so has the pressure on Tate McCollum. Not the expectations, but in the way opposing teams guard him.
It proved true again in its home matchup versus Marion, with several defenders face-guarding the Spartan point guard regardless of where he was on the court. And while that worked for most of the game, McCollum went on a fourth quarter flurry to put the Wolves away and secure the 68-47 victory on Friday, Jan. 30.
“My coach [Jared Galpin] really tries to get me open, and Maddox [Kelley] gets me the ball,” McCollum said. “Whenever I’m getting face guarded in the box-and-one, we run plays for that. And I just knock down shots.”
Solon started the season 14-0 before losing to Center Point-Urbana, 72-46, in a shocking blowout. McCollum had 18 points on the night, while no other Spartan scored more than eight points. That wasn’t the case Friday night.
Kelley, Grant Gordon, and Simon Einwalter carried most of the scoring load along with McCollum in the first half, combining for all but two of its points for a 36-27 halftime lead. Despite nine points, McCollum struggled to make shots while hearing “overrated” chants as he typically does from opposing crowds.
“We need more balanced scoring,” Galpin said. “Seeing Simon shoot the ball that way tonight was great. Seeing Maddox attacking and shooting the ball the way he did. Same thing with Grant, this is what I expect. And that’s what’s really going to take pressure off Tate and get him more open.”
While those chants dwindled after halftime, Solon’s leading scorer didn’t log a single point in the third quarter — Marion defenders picked him up full court and double-teamed him often. The Spartan defense kept the Wolves at a distance with several forced turnovers en route to a 50-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Spartans rolled out to a 57-41 advantage in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, but Marion responded with a 6-0 run the following minute to keep itself in arms reach. Then McCollum lit up the Wolves, hitting three-straight threes while the four kids sitting courtside at the self-made ESPN table screamed into their gaming headsets.
“[In] the first quarter, they were chanting a lot. During the third quarter, they kind of got really quiet,” McCollum said. “They didn’t start saying it anymore. I just use that to get mad and hit shots.”
Now with an 18-point lead, the five junior starters were replaced by the seniors and walked down the bench with giant grins on their faces — the feeling of securing a gritty victory after the ambitions of a perfect season were ruined days prior.
“You always want to see a response after a loss,” Galpin said. “I trusted that we would. I just know these kids, how competitive they are. And we saw a response.”
Stormin’ Pointers spoil Spartans’ perfect season with 72-46 upset
A 9-2 run to open the first period set the tone Tuesday, Jan. 27 as the Stormin’ Pointers of Center Point-Urbana (CPU) handed the Spartans their first loss of the season. CPU won the first quarter 19-15 and outscored Solon 20-4 in the second for a 39-19 halftime lead, including a 14-0 run. The Pointers continued to hammer the Spartans in the third with a slam dunk by CPU’s Cooper Grimm making it 41-22. Grimm would go on to lead all scorers with 19 points on the night including a trio of three-point baskets. CPU entered the final eight minutes ahead 55-36. A pair of back-to-back dunks in the fourth made it 60-36 ahead of a Solon timeout. Grant Gordon, Ethan Ulch, and Tate McCollum each drained a three-point basket in the final minutes but were unable to close the gap.
McCollum, a junior, led Solon with 18 points, Maddox Kelley had an eight point night with five apiece by Gordon and Ulch, four points from Kaden Hoeper, and Simon Einwalter, and two by sophomore Luke Merrick. Ulch led the Spartans in rebounds with four, Hoeper had three assists, and Kelley made four steals.