The Sparta Spartans's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Thursday after their third straight loss. They were dealt a 96-57 loss at the hands of Luther. Despite running the score up even higher than they did in their prior game last Tuesday (56), Sparta still had to take the loss.
Sparta's loss came despite a true team effort from the offense, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was John Rice, who scored 17 points. Another player making a difference was Gavin Rhead, who scored 13 points along with six rebounds.
Even though they lost, Sparta were working as a unit and finished the game with 16 assists. This was only their 13th loss (out of 17 games) when they've passed the ball that well.
Sparta has not been sharp recently as the team has lost ten of their last 11 matches, which put a noticeable dent in their 4-16 record this season. As for Luther, the victory (which was their sixth in a row) raised their record to 14-4.
Sparta didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next matchup, a 71-37 loss vs. Aquinas on the 9th. Luther has also already played their next contest, a 71-56 win against Cashton on the 10th.
