Spartan boys knock off Dunkerton

By: 
Jake Ryder

DUNKERTON – The Grundy Center boys basketball team held off a late charge from Dunkerton, upending the Raiders on the road in a 70-68 final from Monday night.
 
It was only the fourth loss of the season for Dunkerton, halting a six-game winning streak. Grundy Center bounced back from back-to-back losses and the Spartans have won six of their last eight games as the regular season winds down.
 
Grundy Center senior Matthew Sternhagen, who scored a personal-best 15 points against South Hardin on Feb. 1, scored 17 of his game-high 19 points in the first half. Travis Kuester scored 15 points, including three 3-pointers in the second half. Tanner Appel scored 14 points with 12 rebounds. Joe Johnson scored six points with 11 rebounds.
 
The Spartans distributed 27 assists on Monday night: Seven from Cale Hendricks, six each for Kuester and Zach Opheim, four for Mitchell Munson and two each for Johnson and Appel.
 
Sternhagen averaged just 2.3 points per game heading into last Friday's game with South Hardin, and now has 34 points in the last two games.
 
Though he's often come off the bench to contribute, he is one of the Spartans' more vocal leaders.
 
"He knows the fine line to make sure the guys are relaxed," Grundy Center head coach Joe Nelson said. "But he'll get after them if things aren't going right, … he's not afraid to call guys out and that's what we need, that's what's helped us to get from where we were in the middle part of the season to now. He knows what he's there to do and he's getting everyone on board and bringing them along."
 
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here. 

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