By Hub City Times staff

OWEN-WITHEE – The Spencer Rockets remained undefeated, after a 71-62 win over Owen-Withee on Dec. 12 at Owen-Withee High School. The win improved Spencer’s record to 4-0 under second-year Head Coach Clint Nieman.

“That’s a good young team,” Nieman said of the Blackhawks after a hard-fought, come-from-behind win. “Both teams had a lot of fouls, so that put us in a different position than what we’ve had in our previous three games. It was interesting to see the kids work through that and come through that adversity.

“We just couldn’t sustain that lead, and with the foul troubles that we had with a few guys, we put in some younger guys and some role players, and they were a little nervous about being on the court, and maybe not quite as aggressive as some of our leaders that were in foul trouble, so we just couldn’t maintain that lead. Really proud of the kids for fighting back there in the second half.”

The Rockets grabbed a seven-point halftime lead, but the Blackhawks fought back to a grab a slim margin toward the midway point in the second half. Spencer responded, and held on for the win. Late free throws from Brett Kasch and Austin Bacon helped the Rockets put the game away. The two standouts were a combined 15-for-22 from the foul line, eleven of those coming in the second half.

Bacon led the Rockets with a season-high 27 points. Kasch added 21.

“They’re definitely the most consistent,” Nieman added. “They’re the most confident with the ball. Austin is crafty with the ball in the paint. He doesn’t panic, and that’s probably the best compliment I can give him. And Brett has gotten to be a lot more comfortable in a leadership role, and driving to the basket and taking those shots, and being a nice scoring threat for us.”

Spencer was 2-0 in Eastern Cloverbelt competition, heading into a Dec. 17 game at Gilman, followed by a Dec. 19 game against the Indians in Greenwood.

After that game, the Rockets are off until Jan. 3, when they play Pacelli in Stevens Point. Spencer has nine of ten games on the road between Dec. 12 and Jan. 30.