The boys basketball team faced the Timberland Wolves on Friday in a key road matchup, and in a heart wrenching game, the Spartans prevailed, winning 75-73. This win moved the Spartans up to a record of 8-11, and dropped to a record of 8-10. Another key stat is that the win moved the Spartans to 4-2 in the GAC South, which shows how well they have competed in their conference, with a second place overall conference record.

Senior guard Ryan Howard led the Spartans with 23 points, followed by senior forward Derrick Puni with 21 points. The Spartans played valiantly on defense, with five steals in addition to the six blocks. Despite the strong defensive play, the game came down to the wire, with the Spartans barely pulling off the win.

“Our offense really seemed to click, but we were lacking a bit on the defensive side,” Puni said.

The Spartans next game is tonight against the Pattonville Pirates at 6 p.m and Puni says the team has to click on all cylinders tonight.

“We have seven games left until Districts, and tonight, we need to play good defense, and slow the pace of the game down,” Puni said.

WIth only a handful of games left until the playoffs, every game from here on out is critical for the Spartans if they want to get over .500 and have a good enough record to get a high seed in Districts.