Union’s boys claimed a victory Thursday night, with a 71-66 win over the Hobbton Wildcats.
“I was expecting this game to go down to the wire,” said Union coach Colt Pierce. “I didn’t know who would lead in the final minutes. Every conference game we’ve played has come down to the final minutes, but I did expect my boys to come back and play hard and do their best to win.”
While off to a rough start, Union managed to pull things together and have the lead at the end of the first quarter. That lead didn’t last long, and the Wildcats closed the small gap and tied up the score and ended the first half of the game 27-27.
Both the Spartans and Wildcats continued to fight for the lead, but Hobbton pulled out from behind and ended the third quarter ahead by five, 46-41.
The score and momentum changed back and forth through much of the final quarter, but Union got a lead and held tight to close out the game at 71-66.
“I think leadership lead to our victory,” said Pierce. “There were a lot of guys on the team, Derrick Smith for example came out here and played his senior night the way he wanted it to play, he took over the court. Every one of my seniors came out to play hard and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
“I’ve seen a complete 180 in their attitude,” reflected Brad Bass. “We started as a very ‘me’ focused team with each player wanting to be the all star and the point maker but now they’ve learned they have to play together as a team if they want to win and I’m proud they’ve grown so much.”
The Spartans have played their final home game of the season and their next match will be at Rosewood against the Eagles Feb. 7.