Tiger men runners-up at N/V Tourney
The Osmond Tigers finished 2nd to Niobrara-Verdigre in the Verdigre Holiday Tournament. The Tigers beat Bloomfield in the first round by a score of 64-45. Osmond got off to a slow start in the 1st half but outscored the Bees 36-17 in the second half. Cole Moes grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out 3 assists to go along with his game-high 25 points. Brock Johnson finished in double figures as well, contributing 10 points. Kyle Swallow and Keaton Timmerman both added 6 points, with Keaton finding open teammates for 3 assists. Alex Kumm delivered 3 assists as well, finishing with 8 points.
The Tigers faced off against the Niobrara-Verdigre Cougars for the tournament championship. Osmond got off to a great start in the first half outscoring the Cougars in the first and second quarter, taking a 10 point lead into halftime. “During the first half, we saw some of our best offensive execution of the season,” commented Todd Schulze. “Guys were active without the ball, getting ball reversals, as well as low post and high post touches. The ball was moving and all 5 guys on the court were happy to share it. It was fun to watch!” Niobrara-Verdigre began to use a 2-2-1 press in the 3rd quarter but Osmond appeared to handle it, still managing to increase its lead to 12 points heading into the 4th. Ricky Bickerstaff of Niobrara-Verdigre got hot in the 4th quarter, adding 12 points of his own to help ignite the crowd. “The momentum they were able to create by making shots in the 4th quarter had a significant effect on how we continued to handle their press,” said Coach Schulze. “I saw guys shy away from the moment and not break the press together, typically resulting in rushed possessions that ended with a low quality shot attempt or turnover.”
During the OT period the Tigers got off to a nice start grabbing an early 4 point lead off a Cole Moes put back attempt. However, undisciplined possessions and free throws proved to be the difference, as the Tigers missed all 3 attempts while the Cougars went 4 for 5, including 2 free throws with .7 seconds left to earn Niobrara-Verdigre a 54-52 victory over the Tigers. “It was a tough loss for us to take. We’ve lost 3 close games thus far in the season and it’s imperative we find ways to solve that pattern. None of us on the team thought we would be 4-3 but that’s the reality of the situation. Now it’s up to us to improve day by day, enabling ourselves to take care of business in our upcoming contests.”
|
|
Quarter 1 |
Quarter 2 |
Quarter 3 |
Quarter 4 |
Final |
|
Osmond |
13 |
15 |
18 |
18 |
64 |
|
Bloomfield |
12 |
15 |
6 |
11 |
45 |
|
|
Quarter 1 |
Quarter 2 |
Quarter 3 |
Quarter 4 |
OT |
Final |
|
Osmond |
12 |
16 |
9 |
9 |
6 |
52 |
|
NV |
8 |
10 |
7 |
21 |
8 |
54 |