Stratford JV vs. Cy Fair: Friday, January 24 - Loss: 46-44
Yet still another heart-breaker for the JV Spartan Team, a hard-fought, down-to-the-wire contest as the group traveled to Cy Fair. Very similar to their last encounter, although there was a lower score due to pesky defense from both groups and foul trouble on a couple of key Stratford players. Neither side ever went up beyond 5 points during the game. Things looked promising as the Spartans got the opening tip leading to a Cody Hanlen drive and kick out to Ben Harris for a 3. Overall, the group looked very strong in the first half, up 27-24, despite a disappointing buzzer bucket from Cy Fair.
It was clear that both teams really hustled for every rebound and put-back. Cy Fair passed very well around the perimeter, but Stratford defended equally well, especially when they tried to penetrate underneath. Stratford clearly got hurt by some rather spurious foul calls during the game (at least from the viewpoint of more than a few faithful Spartan fans), but there were plenty of self-inflicted wounds as well, including troubles at the foul line. During the last minute, the Spartans had a chance to tie the game but could not convert before the seconds finally got away.
Ben Harris led with 17 points (including two 3s), followed by Alex Harris with 11 (and a 3 with 26 seconds to go). Cody Hanlen added 8 plus some strong rebounds and critical assists. Teagan Tedrow scored six, including a couple of very timely, turn-around jumpers. Will Ubell added an important fast-break lay-up, and Gabe Elizondo provided key ball-handling against the stiff defense during his time in.