Tigers win two in a row to close season

 The Red Oak boys’ basketball team went into its opening round district tournament game Monday night by closing the regular season with two straight victories.

The first of those wins came last Monday in their home finale when the Tigers defeated Southwest Valley, 67-40.

“I think our guys were just playing downhill. We were talking a lot about that before the game. They came out emotionally kind of tight,” Red Oak boys basketball coach Theo Fundermann said. “When you play downhill, the defense has to either step over to help out or you get to the rim and finish.”

The difference in the game was the second half as Red Oak scored 49 points, including 27 in the third quarter. Both teams struggled to put the ball through the bucket in the first half. The two teams combined for 33 points as Red Oak had an 18-15 lead at the break.

Red Oak had a big game in three-pointers, making 14-of-30 as a team.

“I had a feeling coming out in that second half that these guys were going to settle in and emotionally get themselves in check,” Fundermann said.

Weston Rolenc, Ryan Lundgren and Brendon Birt were responsible for the bulk of those threes. All three players scored double-digits in the second half.

“Those inside-out three’s are a lot easier than just trying to jack them up,” Fundermann said.

Rolenc was 5-for-9 from three-point range as he scored a team-high 19 points.

Lundgren was 3-for-6 from three-point range, but finished with 16 points, as well as four steals and three assists.

It was a special night for Birt as he celebrated senior night along with several of his teammates. Birt scored 13 points, making 3-for-10 from three-point range, to go along with four rebounds, two assists and two steals.

“Those three guys, they’ve been battling some really good defenders in the Hawkeye 10 and not to take anything away from Southwest Valley, but they found some open lanes tonight and were able to get some inside-out threes,” Fundermann said. “They’re pretty dangerous from that perimeter.”

Jesse Taylor got in on the three-point fun for the Tigers as he went  3-for-4 from beyond the arc to score nine points.

The win over Southwest Valley completed a regular season sweep.

“It was really fun to watch,” Fundermann said. “It was a great atmosphere and a lot of fun.”

Leading the way for Southwest Valley was Scott Vanderhoof who had 13 points with nine rebounds. Chance Cobb was the only other Timberwolf with double-digit points as he scored 10.

Wyatt McAlpin, Gunnar McCuen and Trenton Drake each had four points.

Red Oak scored its other win Friday night when they defeated Lenox 68-66 in overtime.

The Tigers trailed 29-22 at halftime, but rallied back to take a 45-43 lead through three quarters.

Lenox forced the overtime, but Red Oak outscored Lenox 9-7.

Five players for Red Oak finished with double-digit points, including Jesse Taylor, who scored 17. Conner Jansky had 13, while Lundgren had 12. Rolenc and Birt each scored 11.

Red Oak began the 2A district tournament Monday night when they faced Underwood at Treynor High School.

Results weren’t available as of press time.