(Elk Horn) Sole possession of first place in the Rolling Valley Conference boys basketball standings will be at stake Friday when Exira-EHK gets together with Boyer Valley.
The Spartans have made a habit of winning tight games and find themselves at 6-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference. Coach Doug Newton points to free throw shooting as a big factor in their success. “Probably the biggest thing is our agility to get to the free throw line. Right now we’ve done a good job and have made more free throws than our opponents have shot. If we can keep it close and get to the line we’ve hit free throws to put the game away. Obviously we are doing some good things to have kept games close so we can win them at the end. It’s just been a group effort.” He points out senior Tyler Petersen has done a good job adjusting more of a lead role compared to last season.
The Bulldogs are 8-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference. Coach Newton breaks down Friday’s foe. “They probably are quicker than us in about every position except for maybe one. Gavin Reineke is a really good player, probably the best player in the conference and if he’s not he’s in the top 2-3. He’s a really good player, really smart. The rest of them are just several kids that play hard and battle and rebound well. It’ll be a tough matchup for us.”
He believes it’s far too early to be painting the conference picture with as wide open as things have been this year. “It’s one of those deals where we are all taking turns beating each other. We’ve come out on the end of some close ones to avoid some of those. With three overtime games in a row those are fun when you are in the winning locker room, but you also have to realize you are probably one bounce away from losing that overtime game too.”
The Spartans were a 70-61 overtime winner over CAM on Tuesday. Trey Petersen posted 22 points including a perimeter jump shot to send the game to OT. Newton says the team really came of age in that game. He also gives a lot of credit to assistant coach Tony Santisteban for his contributions this season. “Him and I are pretty much on the same wave length as far as knowing what we are looking for. The kids trust him and listen to him. He does a good job.”
