The Spartans took on the Knights Thursday night in a match up regarded as one that would be critical in determining the conference championship. The Spartans lost in three games, and with that, lost hope of securing the championship for themselves, Head Coach Mark McAfee said.

This was the only head to head match up the two teams were set to play in the regular season, and with Central’s loss, Coach McAfee says North is now in the driver’s seat in regards to the conference.

“[Last night] was our opportunity to win the conference outright,” Coach McAfee said. “Now, we have to rely on others to determine it.”

The coach says the team was thrown by several questionable ball-handling calls early in the game, which continued to frustrate the team throughout the series.

“It was like we were walking on eggshells the whole game,” Coach McAfee said. “Every time we touched the ball, we were waiting for a whistle to blow.”

At the same time, however, the coach said it was still on the team to push through.

“An official will never determine the outcome of a game unless you let them, and last night, we let a less talented team beat us,” he said.

The team is now looking ahead to the Fort Zumwalt South Tournament this weekend. The team has placed in the top two in the tournament for the last four years, and Coach McAfee hopes the team will be able to rematch Howell North during the tournament, where he would be confident of a Spartan victory.