RO BBB rally falls short against Harlan

Harlan boys (6-0, 5-0) eked out a 69-60 win over the Red Oak Tigers (2-3, 2-3), completing a sweep on Friday, Dec. 17.

The score was knotted at 22 to end the first period as the teams battled through three lead changes. Harlan went on a 19-6 run to start the second period and pull away before the Tigers clawed their way back to within seven points, but the Cyclones finished the first half scoring the final three points to lead 47-39 at the half. 

“It looked like both teams might score in the 90s at the half, as both teams were scoring and hitting shots,” Harlan head boys basketball coach Mitch Osborn said. “Red Oak has a very good team. I was disappointed with our defense the first half, but give Red Oak a lot of credit as they attacked the rim, and guys were stepping up hitting some threes besides Max DeVries.”

The Tigers chipped awayat the gap and got to 54-52 with just more than five minutes left to play in the third period before the Cyclones went on a 7-2 run to close out the third period with a 61-54 lead. Red Oak claimed the first six points in the final eight minutes to get within one point, and Harlan moved to a delay offense to run out the clock with an 8-0 run for the win.

“We missed some bunnies in the fourth quarter, and Teagon Kasperbauer hit a big three to put us up by four,” Osborn said. “With no shot clock yet this year, we went to our Carolina delay game and then stepped up and hit some big free throws down the stretch to seal the game.  I was pleased with our defensive effort the second half, as we did a much better job of cutting down on their dribble penetration and limited them to one shot.”

Jacob Birch led three Cyclones in double-digit scoring with 23 points, followed by Bradley Curren with 17 points, and Aidan Hall with 15 points.

DeVries finished with 17 points to lead the Tigers and added one block, six rebounds.

Red Oak stats: Ryan Johnson 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks; Hunter Gilleland 10 points; Kaden Johnson 10 points, four rebounds, one steal; Bradley Sifford nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal; Brayden Sifford two points.

Tiger girls drop to 0-7 overall on the season with a 74-14 loss to the Cyclones (5-2, 3-2).

Harlan led 24-6 at the end of the first period and used a 26-0 second-period run to kick in the running clock for the rest of the game.

Raegen Wicks finished with 28 points for Harlan, 21 of those in the first half, to lead all scorers.

“I thought we played hard and got out of the gate well,” Harlan head girls basketball coach Zach Klaassen said. “It was nice to get everybody in the game and reward our JV kids with a good amount of playing time. They do a great job running our opponents offense and defense. Tonight, they finally got to run our offense and did a good job.”

Olivia Boswell led the Tigers, finishing with eight points, eight rebounds.

Red Oak stats: Payten Bass three points, eight rebounds, two steals; Jaydin Lindsay three points, five rebounds, one steal; Merced Ramirez two rebounds, two assists, one steal; Maddie Doyle three rebounds; Lennon O’Neal one rebound, one steal.

Kuemper

Red Oak basketball hosted Kuemper Monday, Dec. 13, in a double-header postponed from Friday, Dec. 10, dropping both games to the Hawkeye-10 Conference foes.

Red Oak sophomore Lindsay earned her first varsity double-double, finishing with 12 points, 11 rebounds in the Tiger’s 55-28 loss to Kuemper.

RO stats: Bozwell nine points, five rebounds, one steal, one block; Bass five points, six rebounds, two steals; Lainey DeVries two points, three rebounds; Ramirez 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal; Doyle one rebound; O’Neal four rebounds, two assists.

The Red Oak boys basketball team fell 63-50, in a battle with multiple lead changes throughout.

“Red Oak led by two, 44-42, midway through the fourth quarter, but Kuemper went on a 6-0 run to take a 48-44 lead and never looked back,” Red Oak head boys basketball coach Spencer Plank said. “I thought we fought hard and played a solid three quarters, but we need to finish games better than we did tonight. We need a few more guys to make big plays at the end of the game, and I’m confident we’ll get there. It’s still early in the season. We’ll be playing our best basketball in February.”

RO stats: DeVries 20 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal; K. Johnson 11 points, nine rebounds, two assists; Bradley Sifford 10 points, 10 rebounds, one assist; R. Johnson seven points, three rebounds, two steals; Brayden Sifford two points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block; Gilleland one rebound, two assists, two steals, one block.

Red Oak basketball hosts Denison-Schleswig tonight in a double-header beginning with the girls tip at 6 p.m.

The Red Oak Express

2012 Commerce Drive
P.O. Box 377
Red Oak, IA 51566
Phone: 712-623-2566 Fax: 712-623-2568

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