Rockets resurgence: Spencer navigates tough ECC

MARSHFIELD – The Spencer boys basketball team is holding its own this season, in what is once again a very competitive Eastern Cloverbelt Conference.

“I think that there’s a vision with the players this year,” says Spencer Head Coach Charles Jennings. “This year we have four returning starters that are seniors and another returning starter that’s a junior, so they’ve played together a lot over the years, and I just think that the experience that they have on the court together is helping. Some of the players played AAU over the summer, so they got some more experience playing against tougher competition. We’ve got kids that showed up for summer league and kids that go off on their own and are working [on their game]. I think the kids are kind of seeing that they need to be putting work in in the offseason, which is helpful.”

Jennings, who began coaching at the elementary and middle school levels at Immanuel Lutheran in Marshfield, is now in his third season as the head coach of the varsity program at Spencer High School, where he began as a middle school coach and varsity assistant.

He spent one year as the Rockets’ JV coach before replacing Clint Nieman in 2023.

“I always kind of wanted to coach at the varsity level, but I never really coached before, prior to the private school,” Jennings told Hub City Times on Jan. 21. “My son went to the private school, so I ended up coaching there and was athletic director for a little while there, too.”

After a 17-7 season and a share of the Eastern Cloverbelt Conference championship in 2019-2020, the Rockets won just two games the following season. After a 9-18 finish in 2021-22 and a 7-17 season in 2022-23, Nieman stepped down as head coach and Jennings was promoted.

The Rockets finished 7-18 in their first year under Jennings, followed by a 15-11 season a year ago.

“The seniors this year I coached when they were eighth graders, so pretty much my whole time they’ve been with me,” said Jennings. “Just to have them together with me over the past four, five years has been good.”

Jennings says his offense runs through 6’3” senior Sam Bezlyk.

“He started some games as a freshman, but he’s been playing varsity since his freshman year,” Jennings told us. “He’s kind of like a go-to guy. Does everything well. I think he’s three assists off from averaging a triple-double on the season. We lean on him heavily and he does a very nice job.”

The Rockets get much-needed length from 6’6” senior forward Mathers McHone.

“He’s picked his game up quite a bit this year,” said Jennings. “He played AAU ball over the summer with Sam. One of the leading scorers on the team. And Mathers is rebounding a lot more this year.”

Noah Anderson is yet another senior that tops the six-foot mark.

“[He is] struggling on the offensive end a little bit this year, but we rely on him to be out there and get rebounds for us,” Jennings said. “He’s a good shot. His finishing hasn’t been as good as it has been down low, but he’s a guy that can score inside and shoot some threes decent.”

Breckin Miller is another returning senior starter on the Rockets’ roster this season.

“He’s picked up his game this year from last year,” Jennings observed. “Defensively, he’s been really good this year. He’s one of those guys who can hit the three or he can get to the rim and get skinny. I don’t know sometimes how he gets to the rim because it doesn’t seem like there’s a whole lot of room there, but he sneaks through there somehow and finishes well.”

Junior Weston Nieman is the fifth returning starter from a season ago.

“He’s been playing really well this year,” said Jennings. “He’s another one of the leading scorers. Outside shooter, quick, can drive and get to the rim, finishes extremely well, so that’s nice.

“Clay Nieman’s another senior. He’s our rebounder. Plays really good defense,” added Jennings, who is assisted by Ben Martin.

Other key contributors include Hezekiah Duda and Jack Gorst.

Cade Dovenbarger, Camdyn Vogel, Griffin Prybylski and Kyden Schueller round out the varsity roster. Adryan Schmidt serves as team manager.

Bezlyk, meanwhile, is about to become Spencer’s all-time leading scorer.

Sam is currently 65 points away from breaking the school’s all-time scoring record for boys’ basketball. The current record belongs to Jason Shupe, with 1,524 points. Bezlyk scored 19 in a 54-43 loss to Loyal on Jan. 22, putting his career total at 1,460.

“I would say preparation,” said Jennings, when asked what he attributes his team’s current 12-4 record to. “We came into the season well-prepared. In the past we’ve tended to be a streaky team. I think early on, we really did a nice job running our offense. We played man defense a lot last year and I just didn’t feel like that was the best route to go this year, so we implemented a new [zone] defense.”    

After an 11-0 start to the season, the Rockets have lost four of their last five games — all in the ECC.

“Defense for sure,” replied Jennings, when asked what areas need improvement down the stretch. “I would also say effort. We need to bring some intensity to practice. And then I would say listening. There have been games where they go out there and they don’t run an offense at all and it’s very frustrating, and I can’t figure out why. When we do run the offense, good things happen.”

Jennings is hopeful those good things carry into the postseason, where success has been in short supply.

Other than two Sub-Sectional appearances in 1963 and 1964, when they lost to Thorp, the Rockets have never made it out of the Regional round of the playoffs.

Following the WIAA/WISAA merger in 2000, Spencer landed in Div. 3, where the Rockets went 4-11 between 2000 and 2010.

The Rockets were a Div. 5 team in 2011, when they lost to Greenwood, 57-54 in overtime, in a Regional Quarterfinal contest.

Spencer was then a Div. 4 team from 2012-2021, where the Rockets went 8-10 in the playoffs.

Back in Div. 5 in 2022, the Rockets won at Almond-Bancroft and Port Edwards, before losing at Newman in the Regional Final.

Spencer has been back in Div. 4 the past three postseasons, where the Rockets have gone 1-3.