The Oakland-Craig Boys have caught fire, defeating Pender 75-36 on the road Friday night, and Howells-Dodge 58-42 on the road Saturday.
The Knights spurted out to a 24-9 lead on the Pendragons after one. Oakland-Craig outscored Pender 19-7 in the second quarter to go up 43-16 at halftime.
The Knights won the third quarter 18-13 to make it a 61-29 game at the end of three.
Oakland-Craig doubled up the Pendragons 14-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Knights were led by Garrett Seagren, who had a game-high 16 points. Freshman Wyatt Seagren, Tyson Harney, and Carter Thiele were also in double figures with 10 apiece while Kobe Benne and Jared Mulder notched 9 and 8, respectively. Thiele added 7 rebounds.
Head Coach Aaron Meyer.
"But I was really pleased with our bigs. Wyatt (Seagren) had a really good game. Had double figures by halftime. Cole Bures really played well. Played big, had some blocks, had some boards, finished inside a little bit. So really pleased with the young boys there."
Meyer credits "team play" for the win.
"It was really unselfish play all the way around. Last year I felt like we were one pass maybe, and chucking it up. And I find myself this year going shoot that shot. So we're passing up some looks, but it's unselfish play, and then the guys are meshing so much better."
Aaron Meyer adds it was a great win.
"We played a pretty solid game from start to finish. We wanted to speed up the pace of the game and attack the rim. Our 3 young posts combined for 24 points, so I was pleased to see growth there. All in all we are playing very unselfish basketball right now."
The Knights led the Jaguars 18-11 after one before outscoring Howells-Dodge 13-6 in the second quarter to take a 31-17 lead into the locker room.
Howells-Dodge won the third quarter 14-11 to make it a 42-31 game at the end of three.
Oakland-Craig put up 16 points in the fourth quarter compared to 11 for the Jaguars.
Garrett Seagren totaled 19 points and 8 rebounds while Thiele and Wyatt Seagren recorded 18 and 10, respectively.
Meyer says it was a great team win.
"With the schedule we've had, I really felt this game would be a true measuring stick for us. From the very first possession, we made a statement that we were going to trust one another, and take the best shot possible. Defensively, we had a game plan, and we ran it perfectly. We didn't have the greatest outside shooting night, but we took the right shots, which will always be rewarding in the end. We also had some young guys playing through injuries, so I can't say enough about their toughness."
Oakland-Craig (3-2) takes on Wisner-Pilger (2-1) at home Thursday night.
The Gators beat Tekamah-Herman 64-15 at home Friday night.
I think Wisner-Pilger is a good team that can and will give the Knights a good battle.
I feel that the Gators will be the third toughest team Oakland-Craig will have faced all year.
With that said, Wisner-Pilger hasn't really faced or beaten anybody of high quality yet this season so I do like the Knights to beat the Gators.
Oakland-Craig is gelling right now, and playing their best basketball of the season at the moment, in my opinion.
The Knights have really started to play well on both ends of the floor, and turned the corner in their last three ball games.
I know all three teams Oakland-Craig beat had losing records when the Knights took them down, but I still think this Oakland-Craig team is the real deal.
It wouldn't surprise me to see the Knights play well and run the table until the Holiday Break.
I think Wisner-Pilger would be Oakland-Craig's biggest win of the season, and a win over the Gators would give the Knights even more confidence than they have already, in my opinion.
This team is playing great basketball right now, and I look for Oakland-Craig to continue their winning ways Thursday night.
Things are coming together nicely for the Knights, and Oakland-Craig has to be pretty darn happy with the way they are playing right now I would say.
The Knights can't get comfortable and be satisfied though. Oakland-Craig has to remain hungry and must keep playing hard. The Knights have to want more.
Thursday night's game is set to start after the girls game, which is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.
The Oakland-Craig Girls lost 49-41 at Pender Friday night, and 69-47 at Howells-Dodge on Saturday.
Pender jumped out to a 17-4 lead at the end of one. The Pendragons doubled up the Knights 16-8 in the second quarter to take a 33-12 lead into the locker room.
Oakland-Craig made a game of it in the third quarter, outscoring Pender 17-9 to make it a 42-29 game at the end of three.
The Knights won the fourth quarter 12-7.
Dacey Nelson had a team-high 20 points for Oakland-Craig while Kennedy Benne added 8.
Head Coach Joe Anderson.
"Their pressure was a lot more than what we've seen, and what we see in practice probably. But I credit our girls that kept coming back in that second half. We got it to 7 with like 5 minutes left. We really came out well the start of that fourth quarter."
Anderson adds his team was hurt by a slow start.
"I told our girls at halftime I said you don't spot them 15 points we're right there. We played so much harder in that second half. Our kids really came out and played a lot more aggressive, attacking the basket a lot better, got them in some foul trouble."
The Jaguars held a 15-10 lead on the Knights at the end of one. Howells-Dodge outscored Oakland-Craig 21-10 in the second quarter to go up 36-20 at halftime.
The Jaguars won the third quarter 24-14 to lead 60-34 at the end of three.
The Knights put up 13 points in the fourth quarter compared to 9 for Howells-Dodge.
Nelson notched 13 points and 9 rebounds while Benne and Melanie Snader totaled 11 and 9 points, respectively.
I thought Oakland-Craig played a really good second half and competed hard against Pender. The Jaguars simply proved to be too much for the Knights.
Oakland-Craig (3-2) hosts Wisner-Pilger (2-1) Thursday night.
The Gators downed Tekamah-Herman 45-40 at home Friday night.
I think Wisner-Pilger is a pretty good team this year, but I think the Knights can beat the Gators, especially with the game being in Oakland.
I know Oakland-Craig is on a two-game losing streak, but you have to look at who the Knights were beat by.
I feel this game with Wisner-Pilger is a lot like Wisner-Pilger's game with Tekamah-Herman in that both teams are pretty even.
I give the edge to the Knights with the game being in Oakland, but the Gators are no slouch, and I fully expect this game to be close and tightly contested.
Nelson, Snader, Benne, and Shannon Pille need to all have big games for the Knights.
Oakland-Craig also has to play sound defense, which is their bread and butter.
I look for this game to be low scoring and for both defenses to show up and play great games.
I think this is going to be your typical street fight between two pretty scrappy teams.
The Knights have to play physical and use their athleticism and speed to get out in transition to score easy baskets given their lack of height.
Oakland-Craig has to stay out of foul trouble, and be committed to playing straight up, in your face defense for four quarters.
The Knights have to execute on offense and limit turnovers. Oakland-Craig has to make sharp, crisp, and smart passes, and work the ball around the floor for good, open shots.
Getting to the free throw line and converting at the charity stripe is also going to be critical for the Knights, in my opinion.
Thursday night's game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
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