The Spring Grove boys defeated state-ranked No. 9 Mankato Loyola, 61-54, in the Southern Minny Hoops Fest at Byron, sponsored by Breakdown on Saturday, Jan 7. The marquee matchup featured eight lead changes with the hot-shooting Crusaders throwing in 11 treys and outshooting Spring Grove overall, 49% to 42%. But the sure-handed Lions, with only 6 turnovers to Loyola’s 15, got off more shots.
Photo by Lee Epps
Elijah Solum led all scorers with 23 points along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and a blocked shot. Tysen Grinde had a great stat line with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 4 assists with no turnovers. Jacob Olerud had 11 points while Jaxon Strinmoen contributed 8 points, 8 rebounds.
It was often a 3-point shootout with the Lions hoisting a season-most 26 attempts beyond the arc and shooting a good 31% (8 for 26). But Loyola was better with a blazing 48% (11 for 23) with Quinn Kelly (12 points) coming off the bench to bury four triples and Lawson Godfrey (13 points) hitting a trio of 3-balls. However, the Lions held a 10-point advantage with points in the paint, much due to transition defense that allowed the Lions to outscore the Crusaders 8-0 in fast breaks during a seven-point win.
SG outscored Loyola by three points from the field and by four points from the free throw line.
The Lions had attempted only five free throws until the Crusaders were forced to foul, and then Grove sank 7 of 10 charity throws. The Lions had broken a 43-43 tie with a 10-3 run before securing the win from the foul line.
There were eight lead changes with the Crusaders never leading by more than five points and the Lions by no more than seven points. It was 43-43 before the Boys in Black separated with a 10-3 run. Loyola (8-3) had previously lost only to Class AA and AAA squads. Due to an extended football season and also to winter weather, Spring Grove has not yet played a home game.
A dozen Lions scored as the Spring Grove B-team also improved to 5-1 while doubling the Crusader point total, 46-23. Nathan Crouch had team highs with 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 4 assists with no turnovers.
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Varsity: SG 61, Mankato Loyola 54
SCORE by HALVES
SG 27+34=61
ML 24+30=54
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 42% (22-52), ML 49% (19-39)
2-pt FG: SG 54% (14-26), ML 50% (8-16)
3-pt FG: SG 31% (8-26), ML 48% (11-23)
Free throws: SG 64% (9-14), ML 45% (5-11)
Rebounds: SG 23, ML 23; Turnovers: SG 6, ML15; 2nd Chance pts: SG 7, ML 9; Fast break pts: SG 8, ML 0; Pts. in paint: SG 29, ML 19; Greatest lead: SG 7, ML 5; Fouls: SG 13, ML 15
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. *Caleb Griffin 3P, 2R, 1A; *Tysen Grinde 16P, 6R, 4A, 2S; Hunter Holland no stats; *Ethan Crouch 3R, 1A, 2B; Logan Brumm out injured; Jacob Olerud 11P, 3S; *Jaxon Strinmoen 8P, 8R, 2S, 1B; *Elijah Solum 26P, 4R, 4A, 3S, 1B
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B-TEAM
SG 18+28=46
ML 8+15=23
B-TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 32% (17-53), ML 19%$ (5-26)
Turnovers: SG 13, ML 31
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Spring Grove Boys BB 2023
* SEC game, home games in bold
5 wins, 1 loss (3-0 SEC)
12-19 LeRoy-Ostrander,* ppd
W at Lanesboro* 71-52
W at Glenville-Emmons* 75-27
L vs. Dawson-Boyd 57-66
W vs. Higher Ground Academy 83-39
Tues. 01-03 Lyle/Pacelli,* ppd
W at Southland* 57-33
W vs. Mankato Loyola 61-54
Tues. 01-10 Grand Meadow
Fri. 01-13 at Mabel-Canton*
Mon. 01-16 at Schaeffer Academy*
Tues. 01-17 Houston*
Thur. 01-19 Lanesboro*
Mon. 01-23 at Kingsland*
Tues. 01-24 La Crescent-Hokah
Thu. 01-26 Schaeffer Academy*
Tues. 01-31 at LeRoy-Ostrander*
Thur. 02-02 Glenville-Emmons*
Fri. 02-03 at Lyle/Pacelli*(Lyle)
Mon. 02-06 Fillmore Central
Thur. 02-09 Southland*
Sat. 02-11 Rushford-Peterson 5:45 pm
Mon. 02-13 Kingsland*
Tues. 02-14 LeRoy-Ostrander
Fri. 02-17 at Grand Meadow*
Mon. 02-20 Mabel-Canton*
Fri. 02-24 at Houston*
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Spring Grove B-team
5 wins, 1 loss
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
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Spring Grove 8th Grade
1 win, 2 losses
W at Lanesboro 48-24
L at Caledonia 29-37
L at Southland
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Spring Grove 7th Grade
1 win, 2 losses
W at Lanesboro 48-24
L a Caledonia 23-26
W at Southland
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