By DERYK WEDDE

The Mirror reporter

This year marked the 45th annual Sentry Classic basketball tournament in Stevens Point. The tournament spans three days and started on Dec. 28 and finished on Dec. 30. The tournament consisted of 16 total games including boys and girls programs from around the state.

It´s been an up and down season so far for the SPASH girls basketball team. The team headed into the tournament with a record of 4 wins and 5 losses, hoping they could find success and turn the season around.

The Panthers first game was against Manitowoc Lincoln on the first day of the tournament. Manitowoc Lincoln went into the tournament with 2 wins and 5 losses. Overall, both of the teams were evenly matched up. It was a tough game for the Panthers with none of their shots falling, they continued to trail by a short margin at half. They attempted to lift themselves out but they came up short losing with a final score of 63-52.

The second game for the Panthers was against Appleton West who was the better team to be faced statistically. They have had quite a successful season with a 5-1 record prior to the tournament. It was a low scoring game with a final score of 39-31. SPASH’s Rachel Sullivan scored a team high 11 points for the game, but it wasn’t enough, putting the girls to a 4 and 7 record.

On the other hand, the SPASH boys basketball team has rolled through the season with a record of 6 wins and 1 loss heading into the Sentry Classic. Their first opponent, Hortonville, had a 1 and 5 record. SPASH controlled the pace of the game, keeping a comfortable lead throughout play. Drew Blair, SPASH’s leading scorer for the season, scored a team high of 25 points to lead the Panthers to a 69-53 win.

For the final game of the tournament, SPASH took on a hungry Sussex Hamilton team. Sussex came into the tournament with a 5 and 2 record. After losing their first game of the tournament Sussex came in hoping to turn it around. The Panthers swiftly took control and coasted to a booming 65-37 victory, which put SPASH to an 8 and 1 record.