SUPERIOR — It seemed like it was Superior junior Drew Eisel’s night from the very beginning against Cloquet in a Lake Superior Conference matchup Friday, Jan. 17.
Eisel picked up a couple of quick buckets, then came back down the floor for a 3-pointer, putting the Spartans up 7-0 — a lead they wouldn’t look back from.
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As a team, Superior hit 17 3-pointers and took a 96-46 rout over the Lumberjacks — a win they needed after dropping four of the last five games, including a 74-64 loss to New Richmond Tuesday.
“We don’t normally attempt 17 3s,” Eisel said.
The Spartans haven’t shot well from deep all season in games, according to coach Kory Deadrick, but they have in practice, and hot shooting can be “contaigous.”
“When we started the game 1-for-10 versus New Richmond the other night, everybody gets scared to shoot,” he said. “We started the game tonight and we hit some shots early then the next guy hits a couple shots and then you find a guy like Aiden (Parks) that hits six.”
Eisel said the Spartan coaching staff always tells the players to start inside and then step out.
“Once you see one go through, you’ll have more confidence and you can keep shooting,” he said.
Eisel got going early, then it was forward Calvin Anderson doing damage on the inside. The pair combined for 31 first-half points, and the second half seemed to be open season for the Spartan sharpshooters.
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“We’ve been playing together forever, that helps a lot,” Eisel said. “We know where each other wants to be, how to get to our spots. When we get downhill, it opens up so much for our shooters.”
Anderson finished with a game-high 21 points, while Eisel and Parks each had 20. Deadrick was particularly impressed with Parks, who only recently worked his way into the Spartans’ starting lineup.
Cloquet (11-3) wasn’t at full strength Friday. The team has been ravaged by illness over the past week, with Max Sundquist — a key inside defender for the Lumberjacks — missing the Superior game. Others, like leading scorer Jack Battaglia, are still getting their legs back under them after being sick earlier in the week.
Still, the Spartans “were ready to go from the tip,” Deadrick said, and they didn’t look back. More importantly, when Cloquet tried to take away Eisel and Anderson, Parks and others stepped up.
“The next guy has to be willing and able to hit a shot and tonight they did and the lead grew quickly,” he said. “After a kid hits a couple, then Cal and Drew had single coverage and they were scoring every time.”
Junior Jayce Rue was also effective against Battaglia. Rue held the Lumberjacks' leading scorer to 12 points, Battaglia’s lowest total of the season and more than 16 off his season average.
Deadrick knows if Eisel and Anderson play like they played tonight, Superior will be difficult to beat over the stretch run. The Spartans have just one senior on the roster, so they are still experimenting and getting young players reps.
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“We’re trying some new things and putting guys in different positions, but I think the confidence is building at this point,” Deadrick said.
Superior (7-7) will play at Esko at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Cloquet will play at Proctor at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
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