In a matchup between two SWCL conference foes, the Sparta Trojans defeated the Forsyth Panthers, 52-40, on Friday night. Sparta ran their conference record to 4-0 with the victory.
The game started slowly for both teams as they struggled to get on track offensively. After the first quarter, the score was 8-6 in favor of the Trojans. In the second quarter, the offensive woes continued, with both sides getting good looks at the bucket but not getting the shots to fall. Neither team had much gym time this week, due to weather conditions, and it showed in the first half. The score at halftime was 16-11 with Sparta junior Landon Davis having 12 of his team’s 16.
“We had a lid on the bucket the first half,” said Forsyth coach Joshua Hart. “We had 11 points going into halftime. We should have 11 points probably halfway through the first quarter. We couldn’t finish around the rim, partly to Sparta’s defense. They were contesting our shots, they got after us, and they outworked us. We looked like we had a week of snow days, which is what we did, and we weren’t ready to play tonight. We could make every excuse in the book but they were in the same boat. They showed up tonight, we didn’t, bottom line.”
At halftime, both teams readjusted and came out firing. By increasing their defensive pressure, forcing turnovers, and running the floor, both teams scored more in the third quarter than they did in the first half. Sparta saw their lead grow to 10 points, but the Panthers slowly clawed away at the lead. At the end of three, Forsyth trailed 31-27.
Due to foul trouble Forsyth played most of the second half without key player, senior Risten Grady. Grady was held scoreless for the game.
“We tried to take care of the basketball and they turned up the pressure on us,” said Sparta coach Larry Brown. “Their big guy was in foul trouble all night which worked to our advantage. We had some careless turnovers so it felt like there for a while we were just hanging on. We would make a couple big baskets and stretch our lead to eight, and then they’d get it back to four.”
“Risten in foul trouble killed us,” said Hart. “His fourth and fifth fouls were just mental errors on his part. It was just a game that we were off tonight. We’ll get back in the gym on Monday, get refocused, and get our heads right because we come up here and play in the Sparta Tournament next week. Tonight was one of those games where you get back within four but it still feels like you’re down 20. Nothing we could do worked, no bounces went our way, and partly because Sparta was working so hard. Hats off to Sparta tonight, they worked hard.”
The fourth quarter saw Sparta go 10-14 from the free throw line, sealing the game. Davis had two big offensive rebounds and put backs, giving him seven of his game high 23 points in the fourth quarter.
“We’ve been off for two days but we came in the gym early this morning and got ready,” said Davis. “We had to keep our composure when they came back on us. At the end of the game we tried to spread the floor and waste some time. We knew they would foul us soon. My teammates practice free throws a lot and we shot the ball well from the line.”
“Davis is a gamer,” said Brown. “He’s not very big but he’s a really good player. He had some big rebounds, he kept some balls alive, and early on he was our only offense. All the years I’ve coached, and I’ve coached some pretty good players, for his size, he’s as good as any player I’ve ever coached. He ranks up there with some of the best players I’ve ever coached. A lot of people say he can’t do it but he finds a way. He’s a really good player and had a really good night for us.”
Making the free throws down the stretch, Sparta pulled away for the 52-40 win.
“Like we told our kids, it wasn’t pretty but Forsyth is a pretty good ball club,” said Brown. “You’ve got to be happy with the win.”
Forsyth 6 5 16 13 -40
Sparta 8 8 15 21 -52
Forsyth—Jett Schanda-15, Micaiah Rocha-10, Cade Coleman-7, Chase Davidson-5, Bryce Mann-3
Sparta—Landon Davis-23, Collin Gimlin-14, Logan Rutherford-6, Tristan Eaton-5, Nick Shipman-2, Jade Perez-2
