The regular season closed with a state-ranked conference rematch as Class A No. 7 Spring Grove completed a sweep of visiting No. 9 Lyle/Pacelli, 53-38. In front of a huge crowd, some having to stand throughout, the Lions wrapped up their second-ever 25-win regular season and their 11th undefeated Southeast Conference campaign in the last 19 years while extending their conference winning streak to 36 games. The last SEC loss was against L/P in 2021.
Photo by Lee Epps
The game was so determinate for postseason seeding that the voting was delayed until the Feb. 25 verdict was delivered. With the victory, Spring Grove (25-1) then received the No. 2 seed with Lyle/Pacelli (21-5) in the No. 4 slot for the 19-team Section 1A Tournament. Both teams had already secured a third straight SEC division crown – Lions in the East Division, Athletics in the West. It was Spring Grove’s 12th division championship in the last 13 seasons. (Schaeffer Academy was the 2020 champion).
For SG, Elijah Solum scored 17 points, Caleb Griffin 15 and Jaxon Strinmoen 12 – the latter two with 4 assists each. Tysen Grinde had 5 points, 2 assists, a blocked shot and a game-high 4 steals and with 5 rebounds, shared the glass-cleaning honors with Solum.
L/P was led by its All-conference senior trio. Mac Nelson shared scoring honors with 17 points while reigning SEC Player of the Year Buay Koak had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocked shots. Jake Truckenmiller added 9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.
Like their first match-up three weeks previous, the Lions prevailed again with defense and ball-handling. Both times, the teams had the same number of assists, but the Grove guys had only 8 turnovers in both games, whereas the A’s had turnover totals of 21 and then 22. L/P did not even attempt a free throw during the earlier game. In the rematch, the Lion defense limited the Athletics to only three free throws (3 for 3) and a single offensive rebound. Spring Grove hit 13 of 20 free throws (65%). The Lions limited the Athletics to a season low 38 points, eclipsing their previous low in that earlier 46-40 home loss to Spring Grove.
L/P again had a better shooting percentage from the field, this time 42% to the Lions’ 36%. But with the disparity in turnovers and offensive rebounds, the A’s did not shoot often enough to win. And unlike the first meeting, the Lions were better from 3-point land, sinking 8 of 21 (38%), while L/P went 5 for 19 (26%) from downtown.
The first match-up was not decided until the final few seconds, but the rematch followed a far less dramatic script. The marquee rematch saw five lead changes before Spring Grove scored 12 unanswered points on the way to a stunning 30-16 halftime lead. After leading 14-12 with 10:43 on the first-half clock, Lyle/Pacelli had 9 turnovers while hitting only 1 of 7 shots before intermission.
The Lions would go on to lead by 19 points before the A’s got back within eight with five minutes to play, but L/P would not score again. Meanwhile, Spring Grove slowed the pace and added only one more basket but netted 5 of 7 late free throws when the Athletics were forced to foul.
The B-team rematch was again tight until end with Lyle/Pacelli earning a season split with a 40-36 win. The Lion B-team finished with a 17-5 record, the most wins in six years.
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SG 53, L/P 38
SCORE by HALVES
SG 30+23=53
L/P 16+22=38
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 36% (16-45), L/P 42% (15-36)
2-pt FG: SG 33% (8-24), L/P 59% (10-17)
3-pt FG: SG 38% (8-21), L/P 26% (5-19)
Free throws: SG 65% (13-20), L/P 3-3 (100%)
Rebounds: SG 21, L/P 25; Turnovers: SG 8, L/P 22; 2nd Chance pts: SG 7, L/P 2; Fast break pts: SG 6, L/P 2; Pts. in paint: SG 22, L/P 19; Greatest lead: SG 19, L/P 3; Fouls: SG 10, L/P 15
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter; *Caleb Griffin 15P, 2R, 4A, 1S; *Tysen Grinde 5P, 5R, 2A, 4S, 1B; Hunter Holland 1A (no turnovers), 3S; *Ethan Crouch 3R, 1A (no turnovers), 1S, 1B; Jacob Olerud 4P, 2R, 1S; *Jaxon Strinmoen 12P, 4R, 4A (no turnovers), 2S; *Elijah Solum 17P, 5R, 1A, 2S
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Spring Grove Boys Basketball 2023 (end of regular season)
* SEC game, home games in bold,
25 wins, 1 loss (20-0 SEC)
W at Lanesboro* 71-52
W at Glenville-Emmons* 75-27
L vs. Dawson-Boyd 57-66
W vs. Higher Ground Academy 83-39
W at Southland* 57-33
W vs. Mankato Loyola 61-54
W at Grand Meadow 64-27
W at Mabel-Canton*85-36
W at Schaeffer Academy* 69-37
W vs. Houston*67-21
W vs. Lanesboro*60-46
W at Kingsland*72-37
W vs. La Crescent-Hokah 66-63
W vs. Schaeffer Academy*65-35
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander* 81-27
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 93-24
W vs. Glenville-Emmons*72-31
W at Lyle/Pacelli*46-40
W vs. Fillmore Central 69-65
W vs Southland*47-42 OT
W vs. Rushford-Peterson 56-45
W vs. Kingsland*59-23
W vs. Grand Meadow*64-24
W vs. Mabel-Canton*49-34
W at Houston* 77-36
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli* 53-38
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Spring Grove B-team
17 wins, 5 losses
W at Lanesboro 45-20
W at Glenville-Emmons 53-31
W vs. Dawson-Boyd 34-30
W vs. Higher Ground Academy 52-13
L at Southland 35-47
W vs. Loyola 46-23
W at Mabel-Canton 45-9
Wat Schaeffer Academy 61-25
W vs. Houston 52-19
W vs. Lanesboro 35-24
L at Kingsland 41-44
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 30-31
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 49-25
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 54-18
W vs. Glenville-Emmons 57-36
W at Lyle/Pacelli 26-24
W vs. Fillmore Central 46-38
L vs. Southland 27-36
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 42-46
W vs. Kingsland 53-28
W vs. Mabel-Canton 55-28
W at Houston 51-14
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Spring Grove 8th Grade
12 wins, 8 losses
W at Lanesboro 48-24
L at Caledonia 29-37
L at Southland 41-55
W at Grand Meadow 48-14
W at Mabel-Canton 53-30
W at Schaeffer Academy 41-31
W vs. Houston 49-18
L vs. Kingsland 12-43
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 31-50
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 38-26
L vs. Fillmore Central 15-42
L vs. Southland 42-54
L vs. Caledonia 32-42
W vs. Rushford-Peterson 38-28
W vs. Lanesboro 44-22
L vs. Kingsland 29-41
W vs. Grand Meadow 49-13
W vs. Mabel-Canton 38-24
W at Lansing Kee
W at Houston
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Spring Grove 7th Grade
11 wins, 8 losses
L at Lanesboro 23-28
L a Caledonia 23-26
W at Southland 29-26
W at Mabel-Canton 36-32
W at Schaeffer Academy 31-15
W vs. Houston 38-21
W vs. Kingsland 25-20
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 20-27
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 26-13
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 23-21
L vs. Fillmore Central 34-39
W vs. Southland 34-18
L vs. Caledonia 26-31
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 19-30
L vs. Lanesboro 28-40
W vs. Kingsland 32-25
L vs. Mabel-Canton 29-41
W at Lansing Kee
W at Houston
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