Wolverines pounce early, throttle Spartans

Dike-New Hartford scored 19 of the first 21 points and never looked back in last Thursday night’s non-conference tilt with Grundy Center, coasting to a 69-45 win over the Spartans.
           
“Our whole goal was to get a fast start and try and set it with defense and tempo, and I thought we did a pretty good job,” D-NH coach Greg Moore said. “We had some defensive lapses, but overall, I thought we played pretty well.”
           
Wolverine big man Ben Latusek got hot right away as the 6’5” senior scored 10 first quarter points and helped D-NH to a 12-0 advantage out of the gate. D-NH led 19-2 at the first horn, but the Spartans made their only real attempt at a comeback early in the second when they went on a 7-0 run capped by a Drew Rathe three-pointer to make it 19-9. Bryce Flater scored a pair of baskets to make it 21-13, but the Spartans would never get any closer.
           
“I don’t know what happened. I really am mind boggled. The guys were ready to go, and we had a great game plan,” Grundy Center coach Joe Nelson said. “We relaxed too much and just kind of allowed ourselves to not do a lot.”
 
Read more in this week's Grundy Register.