Spartan season comes to a screeching halt (March 17, 2006)

The Spartan boys basketball team's season was anything but disappointing.
The team was able to capture the first ever Olympic Athletic Conference championship by going undefeated (3-0) in conference play during the regular season.
"After winning the OAC title, it really helped boost everyone's confidence," junior forward Chris Malone said. "The whole night was a dream come true."
"It was our big goal this to start the season, [to be OAC champions]," head coach Rodney Klein said. "For us to achieve one of our goals was a major boost to the team."
The team's favorite part of winning the title was all of the post game activities.
"We all loves cutting the nets down, taking pictures and jst the fact of being champions," Malone said.
The Spartans compiled an 18-2 regular season record along with claiming the schools first title, only losing to New Castle and Pendalton Heights by a slim margin of just eleven points between both games. The marked only the third time in school history that a team has gone a whole season with only two loses, dating back to the 1980-81 edition and the 1982-83 state championship club. Hall of Famer Basil Mawbey coached both teams.
This year's Spartan squad was ranked in the top 10 in Class 3A for most of the season.
The team never lost its concentration with all of the successthat they encountered during the season.
"We just talked about the only game that matters, and that's the next one," Klein said.
The state tournament didn't go as well as the they expected it to go. In the first round of the sectional play, the Spartans defeated the Franklin County Wildcats by the score of 65-52.
They then were defeated by the number three ranked Batesville Bulldogs with the score of 45-41, ending all their hopes of winning a state championship.
Junior Ryan Henderson went down with a severe knee injury during the game at Hagerstown, sidelining him for the rest of the regular season. Henderson was able to return to playing action just in time for the sectional. Henderson was the team's third leading scorer with 9.5 points per game average.
"Anytime you lose one of your players, no matter who it is, it will effect you in some way," Klein said. "We don't like to see anyone go out, but when someone goes out we pick the pieces up and we go on."
Senior forward Ryan Mullins also missed several games to start the season due to a leg injury that which he sustained in the final football game.
Junior center Matt Howard led the team in scoring and rebounding with 19.4 points per game average and a 10.8 rebounds per game average. Howard also chipped in 4.3 blocks per game.
Howard was able to claim 7th on the CHS all-time scoring list during the final game of the season.
Either way you look at it the boys basketball season finished with everything that it began with, a lot of hype and excitement, even if full season expectations were not met.