SPASH puts exclamation point on second state title in a row

MADISON - Welcome to the Stevens Point Area Senior High Boys Basketball Show. It’s been running for the last two seasons with raving success.

Trevor Anderson drained a 3-pointer early in the second half and looked over at Sam Hauser with a big smile.

Moments earlier, Hauser skied through the air and sent down a thunderous dunk off an inbounds play and raised his arms and celebrated with the student section.

For the second consecutive season, SPASH showed there was no one better in Division 1 and put an exclamation point on a magical season with a 89-64 annihilation of Muskego at the Kohl Center.

After enduring everything everyone on their schedule threw at them this season, it was time for some emotions come to the forefront.

“Hopefully, I can do this without crying like I just did in the locker room,” SPASH coach Scott Anderson said. “It’s been a magical journey with this group.

“(Assistant coach Dave Hauser) I think with about five minutes left told me to take some time to watch my kid (Trevor). And I told him to do the same thing (with sons Sam and Joey).”

The group that has won 37 consecutive games overall and 55 against high school teams from Wisconsin.

Muskego met the same fate as 27 teams before them this season, and had the misfortune of running into SPASH twice, with both ending in identical 25-point losses.

The Warriors (23-5) didn’t find the performance turned in by SPASH nearly as entertaining, although they gave credit where credit was due.

“They kicked our butt,” Muskego coach Andy Capes said. “I thought our team showed pretty good character going up against a pretty darn good team.”

Senior Matty Farner gave his own take on the proceedings in the state championship game.

“We played against Stevens Point in middle school and knew how good they were,” Farner said. “They beat us in every aspect of the game.”

Only Sauk Prairie managed to stay within single digits during the season.

The far more commonplace result was a 30- or 40-plus point game before the shock troops would enter the fray and put the finishing touches on yet another blowout.

It all added up to the first unbeaten season the senior class put together through the various levels of basketball, and a lasting memory that can never be taken away.

A memory that includes a 100-6 run through the high school careers of Trevor Anderson and Sam Hauser.

“Everyone dreams of winning a state championship, but having an opportunity to win two is something you can’t put into words,” said Trevor Anderson, who tallied 20 points and four assists.

“It’s been an unbelievable two-year run. We never let the pressure get to us.”

The three-headed monster of Sam and Joey Hauser and Trevor Anderson showed what makes them special in the opening half.

Sam and Anderson each poured in 13 points, while Joey chipped in with 11 to account for 37of the Panthers 41 points. They were in firm control with a 41-21 cushion at halftime.

But it’s never been about them either as individuals or a collective group. It’s always been about winning and doing whatever it took on either end of the court to make that happen.

That unselfish mindset has resulted in the entire SPASH program being able to celebrate back-to-back state championships for the first time in school history.

“The last four years have been unbelievable and it got to me (near the end of the championship game),” Sam Hauser said. “It got surreal and it hit me like a brick wall, those were tears of joy.

“You dream about this but it’s cool to see it become reality and experience this because it’s not something everyone gets to experience.”

The players and coaches took the school and Stevens Point community on a wild journey over the past two seasons that won’t soon be forgotten.

SPASH (89): Sam Hauser 7-14 8-9 23, Joey Hauser 4-8 3-3 13, Ted Kearney 1-2 0-0 2, Jamison Kryshak 3-6 0-0 9, Trevor Anderson 7-9 5-8 20, Beau Rosenthal 0-1 0-0 o,Jake Hofmeister 0-1 0-0 0, Spencer Tyson 0-3 0-0 0, Joe Fasula 0-0 2-2 2, Mack Journell 1-1 0-0 2, Evan Mallek 2-2 1-1 5, Keon’te Williams 1-2 0-0 2, Drew Blair 4-4 0-0 11.

MUSKEGO (64): Matty Farner 6-8 1-2 13, Erik Henkel 0-1 0-0 0, Caleb Wagner 5-15 6-7 16, Tommy Anderson 6-11 3-6 20, Stu Vent 3-4 0-0 6, Rob Zolecki 2-2 2-2 7, Ben Schaefer 0-2 0-0 0, Ryan Wikel 0-1 0-0 0, Will Herald 1-1 0-0 2.

3-pointers: SPASH 10 (S. Hauser, J. Hauser 2, Kryshak 3, Anderson, Blair 3); Muskego 6 (Anderson 5, Zolecki).

Records: SPASH 28-0; Muskego 23-5.

Scott A. Williams can be reached at 715-345-2282, or on email at ssswilliam@stevenspoint.gannett.com. Find him on Twitter as @SPJScottWill

Welcome home

Stevens Point Area Senior High will welcome home the state champs with a rally at 1 p.m. today in the SPASH Fieldhouse.