Boys roll in opening portion of the season
Tigers Add 3 More Victories to Remain Undefeated
Osmond had an early season gauntlet this week. Tuesday the Tigers traveled to Spencer to play Boyd County, a game the Tigers hung on to win 42-40. Thursday night included a trip to conference opponent Wynot. The Tigers trailed by 13 at the half but rallied to win by 5 in a tough road environment. Finally, the boys returned home for their 2nd home game of the season to host the Plainview Pirates. Osmond controlled the game from start to finish with full court defensive pressure and capped off the 3rd win of the week, 56-40.
|
1st quarter |
2nd quarter |
3rd quarter |
4th quarter |
Final |
Osmond |
9 |
8 |
18 |
7 |
42 |
Boyd County |
6 |
10 |
6 |
18 |
40 |
The Tigers and Spartans battled back and forth in a tightly contested 1st half. The 3rd quarter was all Osmond outscoring Boyd County by 11 points. Justus and Merrix both contributed 7 points in the quarter as the Tiger defense clamped down and transition offense sped up. The momentum was all Osmond into the 4th quarter, finding themselves ahead 40-22 with a little over 6 minutes to go in the game before a Spartan mid-range jumper banked in to give the home crowd something to cheer about.
Throughout the majority of the next 5 minutes the Tigers didn’t play with the intensity and aggressiveness that saw it build a 18 point lead. Poor decisions and costly turnovers allowed the Spartans to cut the lead to 2 points with 1:25 to go. Aaron Chishiba’s constant defensive pressure forced a Boyd County turnover with 45 seconds left. The following possession, Merrix made a pair of free throws to push the lead back to four. Missed Spartans free throws and tough Tiger defense held the Spartans to a 2 point bucket with one second left on the clock, to give Osmond the 42-40 win.
Merrix led the Tigers in scoring with 21 points and played great defense on the best offensive player for Boyd County. Despite foul trouble Justus Maertins tallied 9 points and 7 rebounds, while Graysen added 7 points and assisted on 4 other made shots.
|
1st quarter |
2nd quarter |
3rd quarter |
4th quarter |
Final |
Osmond |
15 |
12 |
24 |
16 |
67 |
Wynot |
17 |
23 |
12 |
10 |
62 |
The 2nd road game of the week got off to an amazing start for the home team Wynot Blue Devils. Their senior guards Landon and Nate Wiesler combined for 31 first game points, including six made 3s. That helped propel the Blue Devils to a 40-27 halftime lead. “At halftime I made it clear to our guys that we were capable of much better basketball if we played with more focus and discipline,” commented Coach Schulze.
The ensuing 3rd quarter saw an entirely new Tiger team. Watching Osmond crank up their defensive pressure and play with an attack mindset on offense. This led to outscoring Wynot 24-12 in the quarter. Merrix helped the Tigers erase the deficit by adding 13 points of his own in the 3rd quarter. Justus made big plays defensively and contributed 7 points during the quarter. The Tigers were down one point going into the 4th but managed to out-play Wynot the remaining 8 minutes, coming away with a gutsy 67-62 victory for Osmond, its 5th straight over the Blue Devils.
Merrix led all scorers with 30 points on an efficient 71% shooting. Justus added tough defense to go along with his 14 points. Anthony Heiman added 11 points and led the Tigers in rebounds with 7. Graysen Schultze put in 9 points and demonstrated his court vision, assisting on 6 buckets!
|
1st quarter |
2nd quarter |
3rd quarter |
4th quarter |
Final |
Osmond |
23 |
8 |
11 |
14 |
56 |
Plainview |
10 |
13 |
10 |
7 |
40 |
The week finished off at home, with a 14 point victory over the Pirates. Osmond was in control from start to finish, utilizing their harassing team defense to force Plainview into 24 turnovers. “Aaron deserves a lot of credit for his defensive impact thus far this season, especially this night,” commented coach Schulze. “For a player to come out and do that after exerting full effort in a game the night before shows his strengths as a leader.” The Tiger offense was equally impressive, including 3 players scoring in double-figures. Graysen and Justus both scored 14 and Merrix put in 11 points. The points came largely from turnovers, but the 16 offensive rebounds and 12 assists demonstrated Osmond’s ability to compete and make the right plays. Aaron Chishiba was helping the Tigers in many areas, adding 7 points to the Osmond total and taking his 4 charge of the young season. In addition, he led the team in rebounds, steals, and assists with 7, 6, and 5 respectively.
The week included a pair of great offensive performances by Merrix Denn, including a 21 point night in Spencer and 30 point game in Wynot. Fans were able to watch the Tigers play tremendous team defense on a couple of occasions, holding the Pirates and Spartans to 40 points. That is a key statistic for the Tigers. Since recording the stat in 2013, Osmond has a 41-2 record when holding their opponents to 40 points or less. Osmond demonstrated its balanced scoring attacking, currently having 3 players on the team with double-figure scoring averages. The season continues Tuesday, with yet another road game. This one against the Bulldogs of Creighton.
“Our team appreciates the “Tiger energy” that has filled the gyms, both home and away so far this season. We hope to continue to be a team you enjoy cheering for.”
– Todd Schulze (on behalf of the Osmond basketball team)