Spartans Beat Mustangs in Second Game

Playing Saint Paul Academy a second time didn’t prove to be as prosperous as the first time the Breck Mustangs met the Spartans on the court. It was a close game and a battle to the end, but the Spartans pulled through with a winning score of 51-67.

The first time the two teams met was at Saint Paul Academy, and Breck was the proud team, coming off with around an 18 point win.

"I give coach McKenzie credit. His kids came out and executed. They worked really hard. They were more physical than us tonight,” said Beck head coach Matthew McCollister.

One way the Spartans outplayed the Mustangs in physicality was in rebounding. Breck didn’t crash the boards like they usually do and had an off night for following their shots.

“John Culliton is still coming back from an injury and he’s our best rebounder,” said McCollister. “Truth be told, Joey Lurie is our second best rebounder so we were missing our two best rebounders tonight.”

Things were looking good for Breck just after halftime, with the Spartans leading 24-27. The Mustangs had a chance to take the lead with two opportunities for easy lay-ups. But luck was not on the Mustangs side Friday evening and they couldn’t get some of their money shots to drop.

With just under 12 minutes left in the game, the Mustangs saw their first lead of the game. However, it was quickly followed by a Spartan time out. Shortly after, Saint Paul Academy saw a run of a few points, including a drive down the middle of the paint by forward Sam Dicke.

Dicke made the shot and drew a foul, putting an extra point on the board for his team from the free throw. There was no return for the Mustangs after that.

"We played a little bit smaller tonight, we tried to go a little quicker," said McCollister. "Naturally you are going to have some give and take when you go with a smaller line up. We tried to pick up the tempo against them and it never got picked up."