By Paul Lecker

Sports Reporter

SPENCER – On a night where the usually reliable 3-point shooting was floundering for the Spencer boys basketball team, the Rockets turned to the free throw line to get the job done.

Spencer made 17 of 23 free throws and outscored Colby in each of the final three quarters to pull out a 69-58 win over the Hornets in a Cloverbelt Conference East Division game Friday night at Spencer High School.

The Rockets improve to 7-1 overall and remain undefeated at 6-0 in the Cloverbelt East. Colby is now 2-7 and 2-5 in the conference.

Spencer was just 5 of 14 from 3-point range, but came through at the free throw line to earn the win.

The Rockets trailed 9-7 after a sluggish first quarter, but pulled ahead 27-26 at halftime. The Rockets continued to build on their lead in the second half and finished the game with an impressive 24-point fourth quarter.

Bobby Pilz had 22 points, making 7 of 8 free throws, and Calvin Lenz had a season-high 15 points for Spencer. Mitch Susa broke out of a shooting slump to make 4 of 5 3-pointers and finished with 13 points. The rest of the Rockets were just 2-for-10 from long range.

Tanner Gaetz had 23 points to lead Colby.

Spencer will play at Marshfield Columbus Catholic next Thursday. The Dons are tied with Neillsville for second place, one game behind the Rockets in the Cloverbelt East standings. Columbus hosts Neillsville on Monday.

Rockets 69, Hornets 58
Colby 9 17 15 17 – 58
Spencer 7 20 18 24 – 69
COLBY (58): Schauer 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner Gaetz 8-11 5-5 23, Rau 1-2 2-3 4, Raatz 4-6 4-4 16, Meyer 0-0 0-0 0, Lynn 2-5 1-2 5, Derrico 3-11 2-3 9, Jorgenson 0-0 1-4 1. FG: 18-36. FT: 15-21. 3-pointers: 7-15 (Raatz 4-6, Gaetz 2-3, Derrico 1-4, Lynn 0-2). Record: 2-7, 2-5 Cloverbelt East.
SPENCER (69): Nate Mercier 2-5 4-4 9, Calvin Lenz 5-8 5-7 15, Bobby Pilz 7-16 7-8 22, Miles Weber 3-4 0-0 6, Ryan Busse 2-5 0-0 4, Mitch Susa 4-9 1-4 13, Dakota Andreae 0-1 0-0 0. FG: 23-48. FT: 17-23. 3-pointers: 6-15 (Susa 4-5, Mercier 1-3, Pilz 1-7). Record: 7-1, 6-0 Cloverbelt East.