The South Spencer boys basketball team received a treat from St. Nick early last week. But it wasn’t a Snickers, a bag of Skittles or a festive candy cane. Instead, their stocking was stuffed with a solid victory against Evansville Mater Dei. The Class 2A, No. 9 ranked and host Rebels combined a balanced offensive attack with plenty of grit to earn a tasty 66-61 triumph over the Wildcats last Tuesday night in Reo.
South Spencer coach Matt Britton admitted it was a good early season win for his squad.
“It was two good teams going toe-to-toe, and I’m real proud of the toughness we showed to come out on top,” said the Rebel boss. “It seemed like every time Mater Dei made a run, we had an answer. It could have gone either way, but we did what we had to do to pull out a big win.”
“I think it’s a very big boost for our team,” confirmed Rebel senior, Kaydin Duvall. “Mater Dei is big, they’re strong and they can shoot the ball, but coming out and being able to beat them is going to boost our confidence and hopefully lead to a good season.” “We’re just playing our game. We’re able to pass the ball well and every guy is shooting well,” said the South Spencer veteran. “It helps we’re a well-rounded team.”
“We were undersized compared to Mater Dei, but our kids battled,” said Britton. “There won’t be many teams we play who can throw kids 6’6”, 230 and 6’3”, 210 out there who are as physical and skilled as those two boys. Wunderlich, in particular, is not just big but he’s skilled. He can finish over either shoulder. He showed what he’s capable of tonight.”
“It’s the little things at crucial times that win games, like getting a deflection or grabbing a loose ball,” said Britton. “Our kids came up with a lot of big plays down the stretch. It was a great team effort tonight.”
Catch the full story, and much more in this week’s edition of the Spencer County Leader!
Photos by Sierra Bruggeman
