The Exira-EHK Spartans started well in their Substate Final match-up with Sioux Central on Tuesday night but it wasn’t enough to push them on to State. The Spartans ultimately fell to the Rebels 80-69.

The Spartans opened up the game with an 11-3 lead that turned into a 14-6 edge before the Rebels rallied to make it a three point game at the end of the first quarter 16-13. The Rebels took their first lead of the game early in the second quarter at 18-17 and slowly built from there. The Spartans got a great corner three from Josh Pettepier on an inbound play toward the end of the first half to make it a six point game, but the Rebels answered right back with a transition three from Hunter Decker to swing momentum back and give Sioux Central the halftime edge at 40-31.

The Spartans would fall down by as many as 17 in the third quarter but rallied back to get within 9 early in the fourth quarter. That’s as close as they would get. Exira-EHK Head Coach Doug Newton talked about how the game played out.

Sioux Central was led by senior Hunter Decker with 21 points. Fellow senior Blake Cavanaugh was well above his average with 17 points in the game, including 8-9 from the foul line. The Rebels were 24 of 35 from the stripe for the game. The Rebels improve to 22-2 on the season and will head to the Boys Class 1A State Tournament next week for the first time in program history.

The Spartans were led by 18 points from senior forward Trever Schulz, 17 from senior center Dakota Rold, and 16 from senior point guard Cole Burmeister. The Spartans end their season with a record of 22-3. It marks the end of an incredible run for six seniors for the Spartans that also includes Josh Pettepier, Trey Nelsen, and Ian Leader. Coach Newton talked about the legacy these seniors leave behind.

Burmeister and Rold finish their careers as 1,000 point scorers. Pettepier was close to 1,000 points and finishes with over 200 three point makes for his Spartan tenure. That class notched a 72-23 career record for the Spartans.