Savage Heat blaze past Red Devils, Horsemen over weekend
<p>Wyatt Nagy takes a nice shot from inside the paint for a score. Nagy led the Savage Heat in scoring, putting up 12 points total.</p>
HOT SPRINGS/PLAINS - The weekend was a good one for the Savage Heat basketball team with victories over the Noxon Red Devils and Plains Horsemen; proving their athletic talents lay not just in football.
A match-up between the Savage Heat and Noxon Red Devils on Friday proved to be a thrill ride of a basketball game in which Hot Springs barely edged out a win.
The two teams’ seniors clashed in the first quarter with Noxon’s Brandon Piazzola putting in a three-pointer which was immediately answered by Wyatt Nagy sinking a two-point from the middle of the paint after driving in. Noxon then had a streak of nettings by Austin Tucker and Oliver Grupenhoff, and Nagy posted another shot from an offensive rebound. Then, the other Hot Springs seniors Dave Cross and Mike Gray put in some points that put the Savage Heat ahead of the Red Devils. Cross was able to sink a layup from a pass from teammate Jarod White late into the first quarter, and the score stood at 10-9.
In the second quarter, Austin Tucker came in with a post-up shot to put the Red Devils ahead of the Savage Heat, but it was immediately answered by Nagy. Jarod White posted thee points soon after, and then clashed the two teams’ giants - Cross and Grupenhoff.
Both are matched in heighth and strength, and both were out to shut the other down. Due to their aggressive play, both had three fouls each going into the third quarter.
Hot Springs’ Pavol Zahora was put in late into the second quarter, his 6 foot 2 inches coupled with an athletic box jump was the ideal alternative to Cross for the Savage heat, Zahora posted four points and had the crowd going wild. Nagy was ever-present with the attention focused on the posts, and he was able to put in another four points before halftime. Noxon’s Piazzola and Tucker each put in some points shortly before halftime, and the score stood at 25-19, Savage Heat.
The third quarter was a power struggle between the two teams, as both wanted the win. Not one point was scored in the whole quarter by Hot Springs, as the Red Devils mustered a comeback and took the lead, but not by much. Aggressive defenses from both teams wouldn’t allow for points to run high, and by the fourth quarter, the score stood at 25-25.
It wasn’t until Jarod White put in a basket that the Hot Springs offense came up with another scoring campaign. Cross was out the whole third due to his fouls and was put back in for the fourth.
The choice to keep him out by head coach Ricky DePoe proved to be a smart one, as the Savage Heat put in two points via Crosss at the buzzer, and the Savage Heat got the win, 30-29.
Saturday night, the Savage Heat took on the Plains Horsemen and came out with a win, 56-45.