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JAY — Even though Wednesday night’s game had no playoff implications for either team, Spruce Mountain certainly played like there were Wednesday night in a boys basketball regular-season finale against Mt. Abram.

Spruce Mountain lost to Mt. Abram on a buzzer-beater in the season opener on Dec. 5, so Phoenix senior Austin Armandi and his teammates thought it was important to avenge that defeat, which they did in a 64-50 victory.

“Revenge game … so that was really exciting,” Armandi said.

The Phoenix (16-2) and Roadrunners (14-4) already had earned No. 1 seeds in Class C South and Class D South, respectively.

Armandi scored 17 points for the Phoenix, who had four players in double figures. Dylan Jewett tallied 14 points, while fellow juniors Caden Frazier and Owen Kelvey added 12 apiece. 

Spruce Mountain outscored Mt. Abram 25-13 in the fourth quarter. 

“From what my vantage point, it seemed like we got into (Mt. Abram’s) legs a little bit, which we were hoping for,” said Spruce Mountain coach Scott Bessey. “We like to run, our conditioning’s through the roof. Beginning of the season, we had a bunch of football legs, and now we’ve got basketball legs, and we love to run and we like to get out and push the ball.” 

Armandi put that conditioning on display as early as the first possession of the game. He picked off a Mt. Abram pass, leading to a fast-break layup and three-point play.

However, the Phoenix were held to eight points in the first quarter. 

“We struggled with (pushing the ball) a little bit in the first half, with getting the tempo the way that we wanted to, but then in the second half, when it was a missed shot or a turnover, we were gone,” Bessey said. “We were gone. That’s the way we want to play. It’s the way we have to play, because we really don’t shoot the ball that great, so we’ve got to get out in transition and score that way.” 

That’s what the Phoenix did, and extinguished the Roadrunners’ offense by forcing numerous turnovers.

“(Spruce Mountain) hurt us on the boards, they dictated the game, and their defense, I don’t know how many turnovers, but it felt like about 30,” Mt. Abram coach Jeff Pillsbury said. “But you can’t beat a team like this when you turn the ball over. So kudos to Spruce, and they did a lot of good things, but we’re a better team than that.”

Mt. Abram had two players score in double figures. Brennan Mitchell and Isaiah Dereszynski each finished with 13 points.