By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
SPARTA — The real AK Rael showed up for Strafford Friday. That is, the Rael that the Indians rely on to lead their offense emerged from a slow start to District play.
Rael scored 19 points, including 13 in the second half, as Strafford broke away from Sparta for a 56-45 win in the Class 3 District 11 championship game. The Indians halted a streak of five straight losses in District finals.
“It feels great to be the team do it,” Rael said. “We knew we could do it. We talked about it pretty much every day going into Districts. We wanted to get that out of the way.”
Rael’s second-half explosion came after he had been relatively quiet. He had six points in the first half and was fresh from scoring just seven points in a semifinal win against Greenwood earlier in the week.
“I kind of came out slow,” Rael said. “That was definitely on my mind. I was thinking, ‘I need to go, go, go.’ I think I did a pretty good job of that in the second half.”
“It’s just a matter of AK being aggressive and us reminding him he’s the best player on our team and he needs to be aggressive,” Strafford coach Tyler Ryerson said. “We’re so much better when he’s aggressive. We like AK to face up and consistently attack the rim. He opens everything else up for us.”
After holding a 24-21 halftime lead, Strafford increased its advantage to 47-30 in the fourth quarter.
Backing up Rael was Seth Soden, who had eight points in the second half and 15 overall. Soden made three 3-pointers.
Strafford also won with defense.
“We bought into defense in the second half,” Rael said. “We went as hard as we could go on defense. That fueled our offense. We like to push the pace and I think we did a good job getting Sparta tired.”
“We figured out how to guard,” Ryerson said. “I didn’t think we played great in the first half. But in the second half we got our butts down in a defensive stance and got stops. I would like to say it was my halftime speech, but I don’t think it was. They just needed some encouragement to get down and guard.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
Sparta center Jacob Lafferty was major presence while scoring 13 points in the first half. But the Indians held him to three points in the second half. In addition to Lafferty’s 16 points, the Trojans were led by Kavan Walker’s four 3-pointers and 14 points.
Sparta (18-11) was outscored 18-9 in the third quarter
“It wasn’t our night,” Trojans coach Deric Link said. “Credit to their kids. In the second half, they made the right passes, made a lot of shots and got the 50-50 balls. They did everything right.”
Strafford’s title hopes received a boost this season with the additions of Avery Voysey and Cody Voysey, transfers from Ozark. Both are starters. Cody has assumed the Indians’ point guard job as a freshman.
“Kid’s a gamer,” Ryerson said. “I wouldn’t have played him if I wasn’t confident in him. He had some ups and downs this season. But he’s really matured through this stretch.”
Cody wasn’t unnerved by playing in front of a packed house Friday.
“I was like, ‘Let’s put on a show for these people,’” Voysey said. “I was pretty nervous going out there at first. But once I got into the game, those nerves were irrelevant.”
Voysey suffered a fractured growth plate in an ankle during the third day of practices and was out six weeks. Otherwise, he reports his transition to Strafford has went as well as he could have hoped for.
“Once I got to know all these guys, they were so welcoming,” Voysey said. “They welcomed me and Avery to the team and we fit right in. I’m glad to see Avery is having a great time. I want to do everything I can to help extend his season his senior year.”
Strafford’s losing streak in District finals started before Ryerson’s arrival three years ago. But he, too, had been so close, yet so far from District titles. Dating back to his last year at Lamar, Ryerson had lost four straight District championship games.
“I had some guys from Lamar from my previous (District championship team) text me today,” Ryerson said. “It was five years ago today since my Lamar group won one.
“I’m very happy for this group of seniors,” he added. “They work harder than about any group I’ve had.”
Strafford (20-8) moves on to Sectionals at Willard on Wednesday versus the Class 3 District 12 winner.
SPARTA (45) — W. Loveland 3 0-1 6, Walker 5 0-0 14, Lafferty 6 3-5 16, D. Loveland 4 0-0 9.
STRAFFORD (56) — Rael 7 3-4 19, Fraker 1 0-2 3, A. Voysey 3 2-6 8, C. Voysey 2 2-2 6, Hunt 1 1-2 3, Soden 5 2-4 15, Lawler 0 2-2 2.
Sparta 11 10 9 15 – 45
Strafford 13 11 18 14 – 56
3-point goals – Walker 4, Soden 3, Rael 2, Fraker, Lafferty, D. Loveland.
