Sparta overcame its worst shooting performance of the season to edge out one of its biggest rivals, Chester, Tuesday night 59-52 in SIRR Mississippi boys basketball action.
The Bulldogs shot just over 32 percent from the field in the first half making 13-of-40, but did enough on the defensive end to top a much improved Chester squad in a game in which they never trailed.
“I tip my hat to the Chester players for how hard they played,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “Coach Bell is doing an excellent job with them. We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight and Chester did a nice job of taking away some of the things we wanted to do. We were 7-of-20 from the free throw line and missed a ton of layups. It was our defense that won this game for us. It wasn’t pretty, but I am happy to get out of here with a win.”
Sparta came out of the gates quickly to take an 8-0 lead before the Yellow Jackets knew what hit them. Chester had trouble taking care of the ball and finished the quarter with seven turnovers.
Sparta couldn’t capitalize on the mistakes, as the team made just 7-of-19 shots in the opening frame.
Chester’s Brett Barthol kept his team in it early on scoring seven points in the first quarter, as his team trailed 16-10 at the end of one. Wes Kiner led Sparta with six points in the first quarter.
“Brett played a great game for us,” said Chester coach Robert Bell. “He is gaining confidence and he’s our best ball handler. When he plays well, we play well.”
The Dawgs built up a 10-point lead twice in the second quarter, but their cold shooting continued as they made just 6-of-21 shots in the period and couldn’t maintain the large lead.
Chester finished the half with a 13-6 run to trail only 32-29 at the intermission. Zach Lochhead came through big for the Jackets in the quarter scoring eight points.
After two free throws by Jeremy Woodward early in the third quarter, Chester was within one point of Sparta, 32-31. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 9-0 which was sparked by five points from David Sams, as the lead swelled to 43-31.
Lochhead answered with five quick points to ignite a 7-0 Chester run, as the Yellow Jackets cut the lead back to five points, 43-38.
Three-pointers from Maurice Austin and Jordan Thompson led to an 8-2 Sparta run to end the third quarter with a 51-40 advantage.
Chester opened the final quarter with a 6-1 run thanks to three-pointers from Lochhead and Aaron Grah, as the Sparta advantage was reduced to 52-46.
The Jackets were able to cut the lead down to four points after a layup from MJ Hamilton with 46.6 seconds left to play, but that would be as close as Chester would come.
Sparta made just 5-of-13 shots from the foul line in the fourth quarter to keep Chester in the game, but the Yellow Jackets finished the game with four missed shots and a turnover.
“We are finally getting the kids to play hard for an entire game,” added Bell. “They are playing through their mistakes instead of hanging their heads. I appreciate the effort of the kids. If they continue to buy into what we are doing, good things will happen. We just have to get out to better starts. It is tough to win in this conference when you are constantly chasing people.”
Austin and Kiner each had 12 points to lead a balanced Sparta scoring attack. Dartanus White and Sams finished with nine points, while Thompson had eight.
“Wes Kiner was huge for us tonight,” added Williams. “We weren’t shooting the ball well, but he did an excellent job on the board and on defense.”
Lochhead finished with 20 points to pace Chester, while Barthol added 13.
Sparta improved to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference with the win.
Chester dropped to 2-6 on the season and 0-3 in conference play after the loss.
Sparta will next take on Vienna in the Sesser-Valier Holiday Tournament Saturday at 5 p.m.
Chester will begin play in the Sesser-Valier Tournament Saturday against New Athens at 3:30 p.m.
