Spartans sputter early in league opener

An early 12-0 hole proved too much to overcome for the Southwestern men’s team in Tuesday’s conference opener against Iowa Western.

The Reivers, who have received national rankings votes in a 9-0 start this season, raced to the 12-0 lead before Spartan forward Justin De La Cruz of the Dominican Republic scored a layup nearly six minutes after tipoff.

Near the end of the first half, Southwestern had settled in and nearly fought all the way back, trailing 28-22. But, the Reivers closed the half on a 6-0 run to stake a 34-22 lead at the break on the way to a 73-53 victory.

Even in the second half, the Spartans chipped away to cut the margin to eight (43-35) after a 3-pointer by Myles Opare. The freshman from Selden, New York ended with a team-high 11 points. Alec Belter provided 10 points and seven rebounds.

Southwestern’s challenge faded down the stretch, however, as the Reivers secured the conference win by a 20-point margin.

Spartan head coach Darryl Fletcher said the team lacked the mental preparation for the intensity of an ICCAC battle. Four league teams are ranked nationally — No. 1 Kirkwood, No. 5 Iowa Central, No. 6 Ellsworth and No. 8 DMACC, with Iowa Western garnering votes.

Point guard Theo Alexandersson Ohnell of Sweden is the only returnee on the Spartan roster from last year’s team.

“This team is really young and hasn’t quite learned what college basketball is all about and the serious level is presents, especially in our conference,” Fletcher said after the Spartans fell to 2-5 for the season. “Even in our warmups, one of our sophomores dunked and we started with a technical foul. It hasn’t clicked for them completely yet about the effort and readiness we need in showing up for the games. You have to show up every day ready to play.”

On the positive side, Southwestern outscored the Reivers 22-16 in an 11-minute stretch of the first half after the rocky start. There were positive signs about the potential of this Spartan team.

“We started to move the ball a little bit, doing a better job of coming off ball screens aggressively, and we defended their actions a little better,” Fletcher said. “We’re getting there, hopefully. We still have a ways to go.”

Another spark off the bench for the Spartans was guard Frae Wilkins of Franklin, Georgia. The 5-11 freshman scored eight points and grabbed three rebounds.

This Southwestern team has several international players from Sweden, Serbia, Israel, Australia, Italy, France and Dominican Republic, as well as players from Texas, Georgia and New York. The only Iowan is Creston native Ethan Crawford.

As a senior at Creston in 2023, Crawford averaged 7.9 points for the Panthers and was the leading 3-point scorer at 31-of-94 (33%). He has appeared in five games, including the last two minutes on Tuesday.

“Ethan was our manager last year and wanted to play this year,” Fletcher said. “We’re glad to have him.”

After a short Thanksgiving break, the Spartans jump right back into the fire Wednesday in a road trip to No. 6-ranked Ellsworth, which is coming off a 94-86 win over top-ranked Kirkwood last week.

SOUTHWESTERN (53) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 22 6-15 53. Myles Opare 5 0-1 11, Alec Belter 4 1-1 10, Frae Wilkins 4 0-0 8, Bayley Lattenstein 2 1-5 6, MIcah Hines 3 0-0 6, Justine De La Cruz 1 2-5 4, Theo Alexandersson Ohnell 1 1-1 3, Noa Daguet 1 0-0 2, Michael Smith 1 0-0 2, Luka Fecelj 0 1-2 1. FG shooting — 22-60 (36.7 percent). 3-point goals — 3-11 (Opare 1, Lattenstein 1, Belter 1). Rebounds — 30 (Belter 7, De La Cruz 5). Assists — 12 (Belter 3, Hines 2, De La Cruz 2, Daguet 2). Steals — 8 (Belter 2, Hines 2, De La Cruz 2). Turnovers — 13. Team fouls — 21. Fouled out — De La Cruz.

IOWA WESTERN (73) — Totals — (FG FT PTS) 25 18-29 73. Zayden Best 7 5-6 23, JP Sumo 4 3-5 12, Judah Vignery 4 2-2 10, Kason Evans 4 0-1 8, Nate Parras 2 3-4 7, Jang Ruei 2 1-3 5, Jordan Dewaele 2 0-0 4, Zy’lerre Stewart 0 1-2 1, Kris Brown 1 1-2 1, Jalen Cain 9 1-2 1, Madelo Deng 0 1-2 1. FG shooting — 25-64 (39.1 percent). 3-point goals — 5-24 (Best 4, Sumo 1). Rebounds — 39 (Vignery 9, Parras 9). Assists — 9 (Vignery 3). Steals — 9 (Best 3). Blocked shots — 3. Turnovers — 9. Team fouls —15. Fouled out — Dewaele.