Carlton Boys Fall To Spartans

Jan 7

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

Nothing could go right for the Carlton Bulldogs Thursday night in their match against the Nashwauk-Keewatin Spartans. The Spartans opened a 48-17 lead at halftime and cruised to the 70-29 win.

“We work very hard out there,” head coach Carl Grussendorf told Northland Sports Online. “The small mistakes always seem to put us behind and we can’t dig ourselves out…These kids work so hard, and fight for everything out on the court that their hard work will be rewarded sometime.”

The Spartans capitalized on several unforced errors early in the first half as they cruised in the early going. The Spartans had three low post players with a distinct height advantage over any Bulldog. The shortest low post player was 6’3”, where Carlton’s tallest player is 6’0”. With the huge advantage down low, the Spartans fed the ball inside all night long, making it very difficult for Carlton to stop them.

The Bulldogs also struggled offensively, making only three field goals in the second half.
They also found themselves in foul trouble most of the game.

Travis Davis paced the Spartans with 20 points on the night. Zach Pocouchsa added 18 and Nick Emmanuel finished with 12 for the Spartans. N-K improves to 9-1 on the season and they take on Little Fork-Big Falls next Tuesday.

Jake Adams led the Bulldogs with 9 points, Allan Davis had 6, Jasper Youngren finished with 5 points on the night, Eric Adams added 3, and Nick Vacura, Kodie Peterson, and Matt Lund each ended with 2 points. The Bulldogs fall to 0-9 on the season and play Cook County on Friday night.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com