By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Defense keyed the Stevens Point Area Senior High School boys basketball team to 59-40 victory over Antigo Friday, Jan. 25.
"I thought we had a great team effort," said SPASH coach Dan Fink. "I thought our bench at the end of the first and start of the second quarters was great, it was quick. They played so well together."
Fink was referring to a stretch when Antigo took its last lead of the night, 9-8, with about a minute left in the first quarter. With 44.1 seconds left, sophomore Ted Schlafke's three-pointer gave the Panthers an 11-9 lead. After Kyle Corrigan blocked an Antigo shot, Jake Jahnke added a two pointer with 19.6 seconds left to widen the score to 13-9.
That closed out the scoring in the first quarter, as defensively the Panthers blocked two shots and then forced Antigo into a turnover before time ran out.
In the second quarter, Jahnke scored two more baskets and Chad Erspamer added a third as SPASH moved out to a 19-9 lead before Antigo finally scored with 3:05 left in the half, ending a six-minute scoring drought.
Antigo closed to within five, 19-14, with two-and-one-half minutes left, but the Panthers sprinted to a 28-15 halftime lead, capped by a rebound basket by Adam Evanoff after a missed free throw with 15.3 seconds left.
In the second half, SPASH scored the first three points, but Antigo quickly came back with four to cut the lead to 12 points, 31-19.
That was the closest Antigo was to get, however, as the Panthers forced the Red Robins into numerous turnovers.
Evanoff quickly countered Antigo's run to make the score 33-19, and the Panthers matched every Antigo basket with two or more points as the third quarter ended with SPASH on top, 43-26.
Esparmer hit three free throws to start the fourth quarter, but then Antigo came back with two quick baskets to make it 46-30, with six minutes left. Erspamer came back with another free throw and a basket to make it 49-30 with 4:55 left.
The Panthers countered every Antigo point in the remaining time to garner their seventh Wisconsin Valley Conference win of the season against three losses. The Panthers are 9-5 overall.
SPASH showed a balanced scoring effort, as Evanoff was the only Panther in double figures, with 11 points. Erspamer and Ryan Taggatz each added eight, Phil Lazarski had seven, Jahnke got all of his six points in that spurt at the end of the first quarter and beginning of the second.
"I sometimes think we don't get enough credit for our defense," Fink said. "We get better and better every game. I couldn't be more proud of these guys on the defensive end."
He said he continues to set a goal of the team having a 1-0 record before each game. "These guys stayed very focused," he said. The conference is tough, he said, "You don't get comfortable against anybody in this conference."
The Panthers outrebounded Antigo, 28-21, and also had 16 assists, compared to four for Antigo. "It was an excellent team victory," Fink said. "They do a good job on the boards for the size we are. They sure do work hard."