Spartans prevail twice in close games
TRENTON, Mo. — Southwestern men won two games by a total of three points over the weekend in the North Central Missouri College Classic over the weekend.
The Spartans, now 5-0, edged the host Pirates 68-66 in overtime Friday night before taking a 70-69 victory over State Fair Community College of Missouri on Saturday.
“They were both quality wins,” Southwestern coach Mike Holmes said. “North Central is always pretty tough at home, and State Fair is a Division I program with some real weapons.”
On Friday, freshman center Trent Fisher made two free throws with 35 seconds left to tie it 59-59, and the Spartans made a defensive stop to force overtime. In overtime, Ryckey Harper made two free throws with :04 left, and North Central turned the ball over on a final possession.
“It was a real good defensive effort,” Holmes said. “We held their two preseason All-American candidates to five points each.”
Harper led Southwestern with 16 points and freshman center De’Everett Williams added 16 points.
Free throw shooting (18-23) was the key for the Spartans Saturday against State Fair.
The Spartans opened up an 11-point lead with seven minutes to play, but State Fair rallied to tie it 62-62 at the 2:25 mark.
In the final minute, Southwestern netted two free throws by freshman guard Keenan Lindsey and one each by sophomore Kristian Williams and De’Everette Williams. That gave the Spartans a four-point cushion with :04 to play, and State Fair hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Kristian Williams, 6-2 forward from Australia, finished 12-of-13 at the line for Southwestern. Harper again led the Spartans with 19 points.
“We got a lot of basket attacks after spreading them out,” Holmes said. “Our guys were finding seams. Ryckey reads things well in our offense. Kristian’s free throw shooting was huge. De’Everett is very strong in the block and Tyler (Raasch) made some tremendous feeds to him.”
Southwestern plays at Division I Iowa Western on Tuesday.
NORTH CENTRAL (Mo.) (66) — Eighmey 8 2-2 21, Jones 5 3-4 13, Bottcher 5 2-4 12, Johnson 1 4-7 6, Roper 1 3-6 5, Bundy 1 2-2 5, Beasley 2 0-0 4. Totals — 23 16-25 66. 3-point goals — 4 (Eighmey 3, Bundy 1). Team fouls — 16. Fouled out — Bundy, Roper.
SOUTHWESTERN (68) — Ryckey Harper 6 1-2 16, De’Everett Williams 6 1-2 14, Kristian Williams 2 5-7 9, Royce Phillips 4 0-0 8, Trent Fisher 2 4-5 8, Tyler Raasch 3 0-0 7, Boan Weanquoi 2 0-0 4, Chris Santiago 0 2-2 2. Totals — 25 13-18 68. 3-point goals — 4 (Harper 3, Raasch 1). Team fouls — 17. Fouled out — Phillips.
NCMC — 26 59 66
SWCC — 22 59 68
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STATE FAIR CC (Mo.) (69) — Fleming 7 5-7 21, Smith 5 3-6 13, Cholston 4 0-0 10, Dorcens 3 0-0 6, Garner 2 0-0 5, Williams 2 0-0 4, Watkins 2 0-0 4, Bielogalic 1 2-2 4, Fisher 1 0-0 2. Totals — 27 10-13 69. 3-point goals — Fleming 2, Gholston 2. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — Smith.
SOUTHWESTERN (70) — Ryckey Harper 8 2-2 19, Kristian Williams 2 12-13 16, Tyler Raasch 5 0-0 12, De’Everett Williams 4 1-3 9, Trent Fisher 2 1-3 3, Keenan Lindsey 0 2-2 2, Royce Phillips 1 0-0 2. Totals — 22 18-23 70. 3-point goals — 3 (Raasch 2, Harper 1). Team fouls — 18. Fouled out — None.
State Fair — 33 69
SWCC — 34 70
