Sports
Spartans Find Winning Formula
< < Back toDriven behind Braden Jones and offensive consistency, the Alexander Spartans were able to piece together a complete game and defeat the Miller Falcons 76-63. With this TVC matchup in the books, the Spartans put a close to their four-game losing streak and the Falcons drop their second in a row.
Miller (5-10, 5-4 TVC-Hocking) was able to maintain a single-digit deficit throughout the first three quarters, but the Spartans (4-11, 0-6 TVC Ohio) lifted the intensity on both sides of the ball in which resulted in ample problems for the Falcons.
The Spartans have had a difficult time closing games this year and this win proved to be different for Alexander head coach Blaine Gabriel.
“We finished,” he said. “You know, [we had] crunch time their tonight and we finished, and that’s what it takes.”
Heading into the fourth quarter up 55-47, the Spartans transitioned their pressure defense into quick scoring opportunities and opened the fourth quarter with a 19-6 run. This outburst gave Alexander their largest lead of the night at 21 points and they were able to rest their starters in the closing minutes.
Senior forward Braden Jones led all scorers with 24 points and contributed a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman forward Seth Richardson added an additional 10 points and tacked on six rebounds. Sophomore guard Jordan Moseley was second on the team with 12 points.
“Most of the time we have one or two that’s double figures,” Gabriel said. “Tonight we got a lot of people involved and we did a pretty decent job at taking care of the ball.”
Defensively, the Spartans won the turnover margin forcing Miller to cough the ball up 24 times while handing it over 16 times themselves.
With the win, Gabriel picks up his 131 win with the Spartans, more than any other coach in school history.
The Spartans next game is in The Alley against conference opponent Meigs Jan. 25 at 7:30 p.m. The Falcons square-off against Waterford that same day.