The Galena High boys basketball team set the tone defensively in an 89-58 win at Spanish Springs on Tuesday.
Galena outscored the Cougars 23-9 after one quarter and led 45-22 at halftime. "We came out focused on defense," Galena coach Tom Mauer said. "We did a really good job in the first half."
The Grizzlies sustained somewhat of a defensive letdown in the third quarter when they outscored Spanish Springs 23-21. Mauer said his team was getting back on defense like it should.
But other than that the overall effort was solid. "We shot the ball really well," Mauer said. "We shared the ball extremely well."
Point guard J.D. Peters was out with the flue, but Mauer said Tristan Hill did a solid job in his place.
"We needed somebody to take care of the ball and Tristan was sound taking care of the ball," Mauer said.
Luke Babbitt scored 34 points for Galena (8-0 in the High Desert League) in a little over a half. "Luke really shot the ball extremely well," Mauer said. "He just really was in the groove."
Mauer also praised the all-around play of Brice Crook, who scored seven points, and Eric Maupin, who had five steals in the first half.