MADELIA — Armed with a patient offense and a tough defense, Spring Grove seemed more than ready to stop Madelia standout Ja’Sean Glover and company on Saturday.

The Lions (12-3) frustated Glover all game, holding him to just 2 points in the first half and held Madelia to 6 in that stretch. Glover, who is one of the first group of finalists for Mr. Basketball, finished with 12 points in a 53-23 loss to the Lions.

Spring Grove’s offense took its time and that took Madelia out of what it likes to do — run up and down the floor. The Lions were led by senior Carson Gerard’s 14 points and Jaxon Strinmoen’s 12 points.

Neither team looked ready offensively to start the game. In fact, the Lions scored the first points of the game at 12:02 in the first half on a pair of free throws from Gerard.

Three minutes later, Gerard hit two more free throws as the Lions doubled their lead to 4-0. They scored the first 7 points of the game, thanks to a 3-pointer from Elijah Solum.

Glover scored Madelia’s first field goal of the game at 7 minutes left and Hayden Jones added a pair of baskets in the first half as Spring Grove took a 23-6 lead at the break.

Madelia’s offense didn’t get much better in the second half and Spring Grove coninued to move the ball around. The Lions went up 33-13 on a putback dunk by Gerard with 11:17 left in the game and they were up 40-15 with less than 7 minutes remaining.

Madelia, which missed 10 days during the month of December because of COVID, returns to action on Tuesday when it battles Valley Conference rival Martin County West.