The Spartans got out to an early advantage, grabbing a 5-0 lead before Wrightstown got on the board. The two squads traded baskets throughout the first half, with Luxemburg Casco building onto an early advantage as Eli Derenne connected on a pair of threes to set the pace. The Spartans defense was also able to limit leading Wrightstown scorer Alden Cyra, holding him scoreless in the first half. After the opening stanza was complete, it was the Spartans in front, 29-23, to head into the locker room.
Wrightstown tightened things up in the early part of the second half, forcing Spartans turnovers as they inched back into the game. Luxemburg Casco rallied though, with Bryce Piesler hitting a pair of threes to help build the lead back for the Spartans. LC would build the advantage to as high as 11 points, and would hold that lead for much of the half. In the closing minutes, things tightened up, and Wrightstown forced some timely turnovers to close the gap and ultimately tie the ball game. LC had the ball in the final seconds of regulation, with Tatem Klaubauf driving to the lane. Klaubauf took a lot of contact, and no whistle came, giving the ball to the Tigers with a shot to win the game. Asher Vanden Heuval attempted to get a shot off at the buzzer, but it too came up shy, sending the game to overtime, tied at 55-55.
In the first overtime, Wrightstown got on the board first, and seemed well in control to start the extra period. The Spartans fought back valiantly, and managed to tie the game at 60-60. Once again, it would be Luxemburg Casco with the ball in the final seconds, trying to draw something up to win the game. As was the case in the end of regulation though, LC couldn’t get the look to go, giving the ball back to Wrightstown with 2 seconds on the clock, but this time, the Tigers had to go the length of the floor, and a half court heave came up just a bit too strong. The officials put 4 more minutes on the clock, and the scoring was light in the early going. Daniel Buntin split a trip to the line to put the Tigers up 61-60, and then a pair in the late going when the Spartans had to foul to try to get the ball back in the final minute. The Spartans would get one last shot at the buzzer, but a Piesler 3 pointer to extend the game rimmed out and gave Wrightstown a hard fought win.
Eli Derenne and Bryce Piesler led the scoring efforts for the Spartans, each scoring 16 in the contest. For the Tigers, it was Jack Genke leading the way, with a game high 20 points, with 16 points for Daniel Buntin. The Spartans will face one of their biggest tests of the season in their next game, when they take the court on Friday, hosting #1 ranked Freedom.
