03/09/2025
PHOTO: Lion boys huddle around head coach Dakotah Rostad during a home-game timeout. photo by Lee Epps
Spring Grove Boys, Rostad Rebuild with Ball-Handling
By Lee Epps
It was a rebuilding basketball season for the Spring Grove boys in 2025. Exceptional, for a Class A school, two of the previous year’s players were on college rosters. And a veteran staff, including not one but two Hall of Fame coaches, had retired. The cupboard was not bare, but there was a different shade of shelf paper. Three Lions with significant varsity experience, but only one starter, returned from a 25-4, state-ranked team. And for the first time in 30 years, there was an entirely new high school coaching staff. Former Spring Grove Athlete of the Year Dakotah Rostad was back on a once-familiar home floor as head coach, assisted by two-time Lion Athlete of the Year Aric Elton. However, Dan Eiken and Tim Morken (two other former Spring Grove standouts) did return as junior high mentors.
The varsity Lions finished a game-and-half below .500 at 11-14. However, the boys were an even .500 with an 11-11 record against Class A competition. The Grove guys were also even during Southeast Conference action, going 9-9 while placing third among the five teams in the East Division. In non-conference Class A contests, the Lions defeated Fillmore Central and 21-win Blooming Prairie while falling to 23-win Rushford-Peterson. Versus larger Class AA clubs, the Lions fell to eventual 20-win St. Charles and twice to 13-win La Crescent-Hokah. In the Section 1A round of 16, there were no upsets, including No. 9 seed Spring Grove falling for the third time to No. 8 seed Schaeffer Academy.
Halting Spring Grove’s four-year reign, the Houston boys won their first-ever SEC basketball championship and their first conference crown in 38 years (River Valley Conference 1987). Among East Division rivals, the Hurricanes’ closest call was an overtime scare at Spring Grove. The third-place Lions were swept by the Hurricanes (19-9, 14- 4) and runner-up Schaeffer Academy (15-12, 10-8). Spring Grove twice dominated last-place Mabel-Canton (10-18, 6-12) but lost twice to fourth-place Lanesboro (11-15, 8-10). That anomaly was only one example of a what was often a topsy-turvy, unpredictable season. While Spring Grove swept West Division runner-up Kingsland, those same Knights swept Houston, which swept Spring Grove.
Against SEC West Division rivals, there were season sweeps of second-place Kingsland, third-place LeRoy-Ostrander and fourth-place Grand Meadow. Spring Grove has now taken the last 15 games against Kingsland, the last 40 versus L-O and 51 straight versus Grand Meadow. But the Lions split with last-place Lyle/Pacelli and were swept by then undefeated and eventually state-ranked Southland (28-1), far and away the most dominant team in the conference. Glenville-Emmons, now sharing with Alden-Conger and no longer competing in the SEC, was no longer on the Spring Grove schedule.
Many games did not go as expected. The Lions defeated one of the most successful teams in the area by 19 points and yet lost to the least successful squad on the schedule. Eventual section semi-finalist Blooming Prairie, which finished 21-7, was 13-4 when 7-11 Spring Grove came calling on the last day in January. Following their longest bus ride of the year, the Lions led from start to finish, winning 60-41, while shooting a sizzling 43% with 3-pointers and 40% overall to the Awesome Blossoms’ frigid 16% from deep and 31% overall. BP also had 24 turnovers. Surely, the Blossoms had not shot that poorly and handled the ball that carelessly during any of those 13 wins.
Ten days previous, however, it had been Spring Grove suffering with 16% 3-point lack of success (28% overall) while previously winless Lyle/Pacelli shot 53% from downtown (43% overall). The Lions’ potential score-tying shot missed at the buzzer, and L/P won for the first time, 54-51. Surely, the Athletics had not shot that well previously while coming in winless after eight games.
Were those lasting turnarounds? No, just examples of how hot shooting and cold-shooting performances were not predictable on any given night. BP went on to a 21-win season, and that would be the only conference win for L/P on the way to a final 4-24 record. And it would be the Athletics shooting a woeful 16% from 3-point land when they were routed by 21 points (59-38) in the rematch at Spring Grove.
After Grand Meadow had only 19% 3-point success in a 25-point pummeling at Spring Grove (Lions 60, Larks 35), the Superlarks shot twice as well (38%) from afar while almost upsetting Spring Grove in the rematch (Lions 63, Larks 62).
Both Spring Grove and the opponents averaged 53 points per game (SG 52.8, opponents 52.6), but only six of the 25 games were close, decided by single-digit margins. The Lions went 2-4 in those close encounters with that one-point win at Grand Meadow and a 63-60 victory over Kingsland. There was a 54-51 loss at Lyle/Pacelli, a 51-47 home setback against Schaefer Academy and a 44-38 loss at Lanesboro, the lowest-scoring game between these two team in 64 years, since 1961. The Burros thus ended a 23-game losing streak against Spring Grove, dating back a dozen years to 2013. The Lions fell to visiting Houston, 55-46, in the lone overtime game.
Defense dominated many games. Only once did Spring Grove give up 70 points. The Lions scored a season-most 78 points in the season opener at LeRoy-Ostrander (78-42) and topped 70 twice versus Mabel-Canton (71-33 and 72-44), extending their winning streak against the Cougars to 32 games. Hot-shooting Schaeffer Academy was the highest-scoring opponent, 72-47. Spring Grove’s fewest points in a win came in a 59-28 home rematch versus Lyle/Pacelli. The most points scored in a loss came at Lyle/Pacelli (54-51) and versus Southland (64-51). There were 10 blowouts, decided by margins of 20 or more points (SG went 6-4).
As a player, Rostad had the rare distinction of becoming the Lions’ starting point guard as a freshman. And during each of those four seasons directing the offense, he had more assists than turnovers. As the coach, his 2025 Lions continued the Spring Grove tradition with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. Ball-handling, shaky early in the season, improved significantly as the campaign progressed, averaging 13.2 helpers and 12.8 turnovers per game. The opponents were not as reliable, averaging 11.3 assists to 15.1 turnovers
However, rebounding and shooting were inconsistent and ultimately, slightly less successful than that of the opponents. The Lions shot 37% from the field and the opponents 38%. Grove was better with 2-point shots, 46% to 43%, but was not as good with 3-point attempts, 27%to 31%. And the Lions shot more often from downtown than the other guys.
At the free throw line, Spring Grove was better, 64% to 61%, but the opponents attempted more charity shots and outscored the Lions from the stripe by one-and-half points per game. But free throws were not decisive, except one more made or missed would have ended the overtime game during regulation time.
Three times, free throws kept the score close without providing victory. Getting to the foul line more often kept Kingsland close in the Knights’ 3-point loss at SG. Superior free throw shooting kept Grand Meadow close in a one-point loss to the Lions. Likewise, the Grove guys hit 16 of 21 free throws to keep things close in their three-point loss at Lyle/Pacelli.
However, ball-handling, 3-point shooting and rebounding were more often the difference in winning and losing. In 23 of the 25 games, the team with the best 3-point percentage won. Consistency is a challenge and frequently a fickle friend when shooting from distance. Spring Grove, like most opponents, had nights when long shots were falling and when they were not. The Lions had season-highs with 43% 3-point success in wins against LeRoy-Ostrander and Blooming Prairie and a season-coldest 8% while losing by only six points at Lanesboro. The Grove guys netted a season-most 12 treys versus Mabel-Canton (12 for 30, 40%) and a season fewest two against both Lanesboro (2 for 25, 8%) and Rushford-Peterson (2 for 14, 14%).
Shooting 30% from 3-point land provided victory on most nights; 40% guaranteed it. There were only five times in 25 games when both teams shot 30% or better. Spring Grove went 2-3 in those hot-shooting shootouts.
But taking the ball inside was productive as well. Outscoring the opponent “in the paint,” (in the free throw lane) was also a predictor of success. Only twice did the Lions win while being outscored in the lane; to overcome, they needed their two hottest 3-point games of the year (50% and 53%). Only twice did Spring Grove lose with the most points in the lane.
Rebounding was highly challenging. The Lions averaged 28 boards per game to the opposition’s 32, winning the rebounding battle in only nine of the 25 games. Four times, Spring Grove was able to overcome a backboard deficit with hot shooting. A dozen times when the Lions lost the rebound battle, they also lost the scoreboard battle.
In 75 seasons of record keeping (since 1950) only four of 13 Lion boys basketball coaches enjoyed a winning record in their first year at the helm. Immediate predecessor, Wade Grinde began with a modest 12-11 campaign before slipping below .500 the next two years while on the way to a program-record winning percentage of 74% (566-197).
Rostad will return three of the 2025 nine-player rotation with support from a B-team that went 15-9 (13-5 SEC). There was exceptional junior high success. In eighth grade games, the Lions forged a formidable 15-3 record (13-1 SEC) while the seventh graders were undefeated at 22-0 (15-0 SEC).
The emphasis of this article is on the team; individual achievements will be included in upcoming award coverage.
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Southeast Conference 2025
Boys Basketball conf. season
EAST DIVISION W L W L
Houston* 14 - 4 19 - 9
Schaeffer Academy 10 - 8 15 -12
Spring Grove 9 - 9 11 -14
Lanesboro 8 -10 11 -15
Mabel-Canton 6 -12 10 -18
* division champion
WEST DIVISION
Southland* 18 - 0 28 - 1
Kingsland 10 - 8 16 - 11
LeRoy-Ostrander 10 - 8 13 -14
Grand Meadow 4 -14 5 - 21
Lyle/Pacelli 1 -17 4 - 24
* division champion
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Spring Grove Varsity Boys
>>>11-14 overall (9-9 SEC) SEC games in bold
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 78-42
W vs. Fillmore Central 62-31
L vs. Schaeffer Academy 47-51
W at Kingsland 65-50
Sat. Dec. 14 vs. Osage (at Luther College) canceled
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 40-69
L at Houston 40-56
L at St Charles 50-63
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 39-56
L vs. Southland 51-64
L vs. Houston 46-55 (OT)
L at Lanesboro 38-44
W vs. Grand Meadow 60-35
W at Mabel-Canton 71-33
L at Lyle/Pacelli 51-54
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 68-50
L at Southland 42-68
L at Schaeffer Academy 47-72
W vs. Kingsland 63-60
W at Blooming Prairie 60-41
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 34-66
L vs. Lanesboro 33-52
W vs. Mabel-Canton 72-44
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 59-38
W at Grand Meadow 63-62
SECTION 1A ( #9 seed)
L at #8 Schaeffer Academy 40-59
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B-team Boys (15-9, 13-5 SEC)
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 65-35
W vs. Fillmore Central 52-42
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 51-15
W at Kingsland 47-34
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 42-49
L at Houston 54-67
W at St. Charles 43-41
L vs. La Crescent-Hokah 42-46
L vs. Southland 47-55
W vs. Houston 49-40
L at Lanesboro 41-46
W vs. Grand Meadow 51-39
W at Mabel-Canton 59-25
W at Lyle/Pacelli 53-43
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 72-47
L at Southland 57-66
W at Schaeffer Academy 45-37
W vs. Kingsland 49-40
L at Blooming Prairie 61-67
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 55-65
L vs. Lanesboro 25-44
W vs. Mabel-Canton 57-46
W vs. Lyle/Pacelli 61-52
W at Grand Meadow 51-49
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8th Grade Boys (17-3)
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 58-14
W vs. Fillmore Central 56-9
W at Kingsland 53-17
W vs. La Crescent-Hokah 33-22
W at Houston 35-16
W vs. Southland 46-18
W vs. Houston 38-14
L at Lanesboro 43-48
W vs. Grand Meadow 52-7
W at Mabel-Canton 42-30
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 40-12
W at Southland 44-13
W vs. Kingsland 34-16
W vs. Chatfield
L vs. Rushford-Peterson
W vs. Houston
L vs. Rushford-Peterson 39-44
W vs. Lanesboro 47-36
W vs. Mabel-Canton 48-22
W at Lansing Kee
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7th Grade Boys (22-0)
W at LeRoy-Ostrander 61-10
W vs. Fillmore Central 48-25
W vs. Schaeffer Academy 40-28
W at Kingsland 40-28
W vs. La Crescent-Hokah 41-29
W at Houston 52-32
W vs. Southland 40-23
W vs. Houston 50-14
W at Lanesboro 35-28
W vs. Grand Meadow 58-12
W at Mabel-Canton 56-19
W vs. LeRoy-Ostrander 46-15
W at Southland 34-17
W at Schaeffer Academy 39-30
W vs. Kingsland 34-24
W vs. Chatfield
W vs. Rushford-Peterson
W vs. Lewiston-Altura
W vs. Rushford-Peterson 52-19
W vs. Lanesboro 43-31
W vs. Mabel-Canton 47-22
W at Lansing Kee
