The Spearfish Spartans (4–0) remained unbeaten Tuesday night, pulling away in the second half to defeat the Rapid City Stevens Raiders (1–4) 65–47 at Carold Heier Gym. It is the third straight road win for the Spartans vs Class AA opponents.
Spearfish erupted for 42 second‑half points, powered by matching 17‑point performances from seniors Kamren Davis and Kade Vavruska, turning a tight first half into a convincing road victory.
The opening two quarters were evenly matched. Stevens edged Spearfish 9–8 after the first quarter, but the Spartans answered with a 15–13 second‑quarter advantage to take a 23–22 lead into halftime. The teams were nearly identical statistically at the break, with Spearfish holding a slight 22–20 rebounding edge and committing two fewer turnovers.
The tone shifted dramatically after halftime. Spearfish dominated the glass and the scoreboard, outscoring Stevens 42–25 over the final 16 minutes and outrebounding the Raiders 26–11 in that span. Senior forward Cooper Gibbs anchored the interior, finishing with 13 rebounds and earning the Superior Performer of the Game honor from Superior Auto Solutions.
Stevens was led by Seth Paugh, who scored 17 points to match Davis and Vavruska for the game high. Lucas Marcus added 16 points, while Andrew Zimmerman scored 7, Logan Nisen 6, and Anders Christensen 1.
For Spearfish, Davis and Vavruska shared the scoring lead with 17 apiece. Bennett Kortan added 10 points, Karsen Seyer scored 8, Gibbs contributed 7, and Mason Southern finished with 6.
Rapid City Stevens, now 1–4, will travel to face cross‑town rival Rapid City Central on Saturday. Spearfish returns home for just its second home game of the season when it hosts Hill City on Thursday, Jan. 8. The game will be broadcast on KDSJ‑TV on YouTube and Facebook.
Rewatch HERE: https://www.youtube.com/live/DrCihWrS4Jc?si=AcguUaMy_FTbpJlT
