Behind a balanced scoring attack and an aggressive defense, the Sparta Bulldogs picked up their second consecutive conference win Tuesday by topping Carterville 55-43.
The win pushes Sparta’s record to 4-7 overall and 2-1 in the SIRR Mississippi Division.
“We have made some big improvements over the past three weeks,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “The team is sharing the ball better and our defense keeps improving. We didn’t have a lot of varsity experience to start the year but the guys now are making great strides.”
The Bulldogs got off to a sluggish start making just 5-of-15 shots, while Carterville was able to make good on 6-of-10 attempts for a 15-10 lead going into the second quarter.
Weslen Kiner had six points for the Bulldogs in the opening frame to keep his team close.
Trailing 24-23, 6’7 sophomore Aaron Rushing converted a layup and a foul shot which triggered a five point swing for the Bulldogs as the Carterville coach Scott Burzynski was whistled with a technical foul arguing the call.
Jordan Thompson made both free throws stemming from the technical as Sparta moved ahead 28-24.
The Bulldogs would hang on to a small lead 28-26 at the break.  Rushing finished with six points in the quarter while fellow post player Kiner added four points, as the Lions didn’t have an answer for when Sparta had both big guys playing at the same time.
“When we have that lineup in, it really causes a lot of mismatches for teams,” added Williams. “Those two (Rushing and Kiner) are getting used to playing together and we are seeing good results.”
The Dawgs opened up the second half with a 10-2 run to grab a 10-point lead, 38-28. Five different players scored in the quarter for Sparta.
Carterville didn’t fold and was able to fight to cut the deficit to six points, 40-34, heading into the fourth period.
Behind six points from Zach Watson, Carterville was able to get within four points, 46-42, but that would be it.
Sparta ended the game with a 9-1 scoring run to put the game away.
Kiner finished with 18 points to pace Sparta, while Thompson had 11 followed by Rushing with 10 and London Oliver with eight.
Watson finished with 15 points to lead Carterville.
Sparta is now off until Monday, December 27 where the team takes on Christopher in the first round of the Sesser-Valier Holiday tournament at 10:30 a.m. The Bulldogs are the fourth seed in the tournament and have a potential to meet longtime rival Chester in the second round.