Boys Basketball Team Shatters Old Record

A record was broken on Dec. 13 when the boys basketball team scored 114 points against North Branch.

The old record was made in 1997 by the state championship team with a final score of 97. The state record for the most points scored in a boys high school basketball game is 156 by Minnesota Transitions Charter School in 2007.

Coach Ben Bushaw said the team handled the full-court press by North Branch well in the Simley-record game.

"They played a style where they were pressing us the entire time and our guards did well and were able to find the open people and score," the coach said.

At the half the Spartans had racked 67 points.

"We were on track to score 120," Bushaw said noting the starting five players did not stay in the entire game. "We didn’t want to push the score too high … it was a nice game for everyone to get in and contribute to the win."

Twelve team members got on the books with at least one bucket and seven players were in double digits. Senior captain John Spillane lead the team with 22 points followed by junior Andrew Kropp with 16.

"I’m proud of the teamwork they displayed and how they passed the ball around to find the open man," Bushaw said. "In this particular game it was about trying to take care of the ball when the other team was trying to press us. We remained in control of the game and played the best we could."

Defensively, the team also did well by holding North Branch to 59 points.

The team, with an overall record of 2-3, faces the team from Farmington next- Dec. 22 at home.