The Spring Grove boys buried Kingsland, 59-23, to nail down a third straight SEC East Division championship – their 12th league title in the last 13 seasons and 23rd conference crown all-time. Jaxon Strinmoen had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double along with a game-high 5 steals while Jacob Olerud put in 14 points and Elijah Solum netted 13 to complete a balanced-scoring trio.
Photo by Lee Epps
The Lions (21-1, 17-0 SEC East), having moved up a notch to No. 8 in the state Class A rankings, claimed their 11th consecutive win versus Kingsland, including a late January decision this season by a very similar score, 72-37. But the Grove guys did not take control nearly as early in this home rematch as they had at Spring Valley. The Knights (11-12, 9-8 SEC West) had only 14 points at halftime of each game, but after leading 31-14 in January, the Lions led only 20-14 at halftime of this rematch.
The Lion lads shot only 29% in the first half before firing with 52% accuracy after intermission when they outscored the visitors, 39-9. Spring Grove led only 24-16 before blazing away with a 27-to-4 run, scoring on 10 of 12 possessions. Both teams fired away frequently from 3-point land, but neither enjoyed much success. The Lions shot a mediocre 25% (7 for 28) while the Knights were an abysmal 11% (2 for 19) beyond the 3-point arc. Junior guard Jayden Brink had both treys while scoring a team-high 14 points for Kingsland. Overall, the visitors shot only 24% and had few second-chance opportunities with only 5 offensive rebounds.
Kingsland, as to be expected, was better prepared to face Spring Grove’s trapping, pressing defense. But once it was a halfcourt game, the Knights’ total of 21 turnovers was only a slight improvement over their 26 lost possessions back in January. Wade Grinde’s ball-handlers were consistent with 8 turnovers in the rematch after only 7 in the first matchup. Five Lions had more assists than turnovers. Solum led with 4 helpers while Ethan Crouch past out a pair of assists with no turnovers.
The Lion B-team (15-5) avenged a three-point loss at Spring Valley with a convincing 53-28 victory at Spring Grove. The eighth grade squad fell again to Kingsland, 41-29, while the seventh grade guys completed a season sweep, 32-25.
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SG 59, Kingsland 23
SCORE by HALVES
SG 20+39=59
KHS 14+9=23
TEAM TOTALS:
all FG: SG 39% (23-57), KHS 24% (10-42)
2-pt FG: SG 55% (16-29), KHS 35% (8-23)
3-pt FG: SG 25% (7-28), KHS 11% (2-19)
Free throws: SG 60% (6-10); KHS 20% (1-5); Rebounds: SG 34, KHS 24; Turnovers: SG 8, KHS 21; 2nd Chance pts: SG 13, KHS 2; Fast break pts: SG 12, KHS 8; Pts. in paint: SG 36, KHS 17; Greatest lead: SG 36, KHS 0; Fouls: SG 8, KHS 8
SG INDIVIDUALS: P-points, R rebounds, A-assists, S-steals, B-blocked shots. Listed in order of jersey number. * starter. *Caleb Griffin 4P, 6R, 2A; Isaac Nerstad 1R, 1A; *Tysen Grinde 6P, 8R, 2A, 4S; Hunter Holland 2P, 1R; Josh Newgaard 1R; *Ethan Crouch 3P, 1R, 2A, 1S; Logan Brumm no stats; Jacob Olerud 14P, 2R, 2A, 3S; Bryce Berns 2P; Dane Edgington 1R; *Jaxon Strinmoen 15P, 10R, 5S; *Elijah Solum 13P, 3R, 4A, 1S, 1B
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Spring Grove Boys Basketball 2023
* SEC game, home games in bold
21 wins, 1 loss (16-0 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
Fri. 02-17 Grand Meadow*
Mon. 02-20 Mabel-Canton*
Fri. 02-24 at Houston*
Sat. 02-25 Lyle/Pacelli (approx. 5:15 p.m.)
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Spring Grove B-team
15 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
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Spring Grove 8th Grade
8 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
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Spring Grove 7th Grade
9 wins, 6 losses
at Lanesboro
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