Spartan men hold on against Central JV

Southwestern’s men escaped with an 87-80 win over Central’s JV team here Thursday in a game where head coach Todd Lorensen said the Spartans lacked focus and energy for much of the contest.

Central jumped to an early 10-3 lead, before Southwestern responded with a 14-3 run. The Spartans took a 38-35 lead into halftime, as the Dutch stuck around.

“We were pretty loosey goosey to start off,” Lorensen said. “Even in warmups you could kind of get that feel. We tried to talk about it and at least address it before the game. Unfortunately, most of the time you have that focus or lack thereof during warmups, it translates into the game.”

The Spartans missed several shots from close range during the first half.

With the lack of focus and energy in the first half, Lorensen started the second half with just one starter on the floor.

Ahmad Newsome started the second half, along with reserves Tanner Kellogg, Malik Williams, Josh Tolbert and Austin Weber.

“I felt Ahmad played hard the first half,” Lorensen said. “He didn’t necessarily have a great statistical first half, but I thought he had a lot of energy and focus. From that standpoint, we wanted him in the game. The other four guys, we thought let’s give them a chance and see if they can bring us some energy, which I thought they did.”

Weber scored the first 10 points of the second half for Southwestern, slicing his way to the basket for pair of baskets and then sinking a pair of 3-pointers, as the Spartans built a 48-43 lead.

“Austin gave us a lot of juice off the bench there,” Lorensen said. “He does a great job for us in practice. Probably need to find a spot somewhere to get him a few minutes, because I always know when he’s going to play hard, always know he’s going to do his job on the defensive end, and he can make shots.”

The rest of the Spartan regulars didn’t return to the game until 7:00 were left on the clock.

Jok Kut made it a 50-43 lead for the Spartans with a basket off a post-up. The lead grew to 66-53 following a Kut 3-pointer and then a traditional 3-point play by the 6-7 freshman from Lincoln, Neb.

But the Dutch still wouldn’t go away. Twice, Central cut the lead to five points down the stretch, on the strength of 14 3-pointers in the game, including seven second-half 3-pointers.

“It’s weird. When you start to let a team feel comfortable, even when you do do a better job of contesting or being in the gaps, they feel good about themselves,” Lorensen said. “And then that shot that was maybe a little more difficult on another night, they’re going to make, because they’re confident.”

The final two minutes of the game saw the Spartans get a layup from Kut and a dunk from Simon Joseph, as well as a pair of free throws from both Newsome and Tolbert to hold off the Dutch for the 87-80 victory.

Kut led Southwestern with 18 points, while Joseph chipped in 13 and TJ Bower dropped in 12 points. Weber finished with 10 points.

Nick Drucker and Jacob Hay each sank five 3-pointers for the Dutch, scoring 19 and 15 points, respectively. Sophomore guard Pete Walker of Red Oak scored 12 points for Central.

“A win is a win, but we’ve got to get much better on a daily basis in practice and in games if we want to have an opportunity at some things I think we’re capable of,” Lorensen said.

Southwestern improved to 18-7 for the season with the win. The Spartans return to action Wednesday at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa Falls.

CENTRAL JV (80) — Nick Drucker 7 0-0 19, Jacob Hay 5 0-0 15, Luke Posivio 5 4-4 14, Pete Walker 4 2-3 12, Ben Clark 3 0-0 7, Michael Austin 1 1-1 3, Jordan Saddoris 1 0-0 3, Keegan Wynja 1 1-1 3, Austin Konsor 1 0-0 2, Ryan Kruse 1 0-0 2. Totals — 29 8-9 80. 3-point goals — 14 (Drucker 5, Hay 5, Walker 2, Clark 1, Saddoris 1). Team fouls — 20. Fouled out — none.

SOUTHWESTERN (87) — Jok Kut 7 34- 18, Simon Joseph 6 1-1 13, TJ Bower 3 4-6 12, Austin Weber 4 0-0 10, Jaylon Smith 2 2-2 8, Josh Tolbert 2 2-3 7, Mataika Koyamainavure 2 3-5 7, Josh Kirk 2 1-1 5, Ahmad Newsome 1 2-3 4, Malik Williams 1 0-0 3. Totals — 30 18-25 87. 3-point goals — 9 (Bower 2, Weber 2, Smith 2, Tolbert 1, Williams 1, Kut 1). Team fouls — 13. Fouled out — none.

Central JV — 35 80

SWCC — 38 87