By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
With how well Fair Grove is playing, Eagles coach Bryan Tucker might be losing a handy motivational tactic in the near future.
The unranked Eagles continue to show they’re worthy of a Top 10 spot in the state rankings, the latest evidence coming Saturday night in the championship game of the Sparta Invitational.
Fair Grove’s rugged defense lifted the Eagles to a 43-39 victory over the host (and state-ranked) Trojans.
Blake Winterberg scored a team-high 12 as Fair Grove led most of the game and didn’t relinquish the lead after Sparta drew within a single possession in the final minute.
“We’re tough,” Tucker said. “We have a group of kids who love to battle, love to fight… love to be the underdog. That’s kind of been their mentality for a couple years now.”
Fair Grove has no other choice but to embrace its underdog role. The Eagles haven’t received a single vote in the Class 3 rankings all season.
“We can’t get on any list,” Tucker said. “Maybe people don’t know we’re Class 3? I don’t know what it is… To me, all that stuff is irrelevant. When we’re not on the list, it gives our kids a little extra chip on their shoulders.”
A snub in the state rankings is nothing new for players like Spensar Seiger.
“Just looking on the (rankings) list, seeing the teams we’ve beaten already, it’s kind of the same situation we had in football last fall,” he said. “It’s whatever. We just put it on the board sometimes and go after it.”
Added Winterberg: “We use it as motivation pretty well.”
Fair Grove scored the game’s first seven points on Saturday night and led 24-19 at halftime, before Sparta finally came to life in the second half. The Trojans pulled even by the end of the third quarter.
“You can tell how much time (Fair Grove) spends on just being physical,” said Sparta coach Deric Link. “They were moving us everywhere tonight. This is the kind of game we’re going to play in these big tournament and district games. We have to be ready for the challenge.”
Thanks to Fair Grove’s shaky free throw shooting in the fourth quarter (9-for-14), Sparta had a chance to steal a win in the final seconds.
But the Eagles held on for a win that could not only push them into the state rankings, but also give them a favorable district seed. Fair Grove and Sparta (No. 6-ranked) are part of a Class 3 District 11 field that includes state-ranked Greenwood and a pair of 13-win teams (Forsyth, Pleasant Hope).
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“People have talked about us as a good team but (asked), ‘Are they ever going to be able to make that jump to the next level?” Tucker said. “Our kids read into that and I think it challenged them. We had our entire team returning from a 19-win team and just felt like with another year on the varsity level under their belts, they’d be ready to take a jump. But you have to do it on the floor.”
Seiger earned tournament MVP honors thanks in part to his defensive effort on Lafferty, who finished with a hard-earned 18 points.
Seiger had plenty of help – Fair Grove dedicated extra attention to the Sparta star.
“We did great,” Seiger said. “Tyler Barnett helped me down low, especially. We set a lot of traps on (Lafferty) and just tried to sit on his right hip as much as we could, because we knew he’d spin back to his right.”
Said Tucker: “As much as it was Spensar, it was our other defenders being there in the right place. We talked about that before the game: We couldn’t have any assignment errors. And we really didn’t for the most part tonight.”
The Eagles have hit their stride in January. Fair Grove has reeled off nine straight wins since the Blue and Gold, including winning the championship of Checotah Crossroads Classic in Oklahoma last week.
“Coming here and getting to play an elite Sparta team, which has in my opinion the best player in the area, was a great opportunity. Our kids were ready to play. They knew what this game meant for both teams, especially district-seeding wise,” Tucker said.
Sparta (17-4 overall) will look to bounce back Tuesday night at home against Marshfield.
Fair Grove (16-4 overall) also returns to action Tuesday night in a highly anticipated home matchup with Hartville (No. 2-ranked in Class 2).
Fair Grove hasn’t beat Hartville since the 2009-10 season. Hartville prevailed 36-29 earlier this season in the championship game of the Clever Invitational.
“We got the momentum rolling right now,” Winterberg said. “We’re feeling good, we’re playing good. We just have to keep it up.”
Fair Grove 43, Sparta 39
Fair Grove 15 9 5 14 — 43
Sparta 10 9 10 10 — 39
Fair Grove (16-4 overall) – Blake Winterberg 12, Kyle Winterberg 11, Spensar Seiger 7, Tyler Barnett 6, Bryden Baxter 5, Kellen Lair 2
Sparta (17-4 overall) – Jacob Lafferty 18, Walker Loveland 5, Braylen Luttrull 4, Mason Letterman 4, Rowdy Ball 3, Lee Mayes 3, Trent Ingle 2
