Oakland-Craig Boys and Girls fall at North Bend Central

The Oakland-Craig Boys lost 72-62 at North Bend Central Friday night.

North Bend Central led 24-14 after one. The Tigers won the second quarter 15-13 to go up 39-27 at halftime.

The Knights came back and made a game of it in the third quarter, outscoring North Bend Central 21-13 to make it a 52-48 game at the end of three.

The Tigers outlasted Oakland-Craig 20-16 in the fourth quarter.

The Knights were led by Garrett Seagren, who poured in a game-high 22 points. Carter Thiele registered 20 points and 8 rebounds while Kobe Benne posted 15 points.

Head Coach Aaron Meyer says they need more consistency on defense.

"Tale of two teams. We've been Jekyll and Hyde here lately. I will take the blame for not cranking up the full court man sooner. There just a sense of desperation that we had to start the second half that we did not have to start the game. And doesn't matter what defense you're in you have to box out. And you can't give up offensive board after offensive board."


Meyer was pleased with his team's effort and performance, but credits the Tigers.

“I thought we came out and were ready to play. We just struggled to match up with North Bend. They have a lot of length and athleticism. We gave up back to back threes late in the first quarter that gave them a cushion. They also doubled us in the rebounding category. Can't win too many games like that. At the same time, I loved how we came out and played with a sense of desperation in the 2nd half. We'd like to build on that.”

Oakland-Craig (10-5) hosts Mead (10-2) Tuesday night.

The Raiders topped BRLD 45-38 on the road in overtime last Saturday.

Mead is the defending Class D-2 runner-ups, and is the real deal in my mind. 

This is going to be another very tough game for the Knights, in my opinion.

With that said, I think Oakland-Craig can win and get back on track.

I thought the Knights played better against North Bend Central than they did against BRLD and Winnebago.

Oakland-Craig has to bring it Tuesday night though. The Knights have to be on top of their game from an offensive and defensive standpoint.

Scoring hasn't been an issue for Oakland-Craig lately, it's just been their defense that has let them down.

The Knights were playing better defensively during their winning streak.

I think defense is going to be the key to the game for Oakland-Craig. The Knights have to get back to playing the way they were during their winning streak.

Oakland-Craig has to make a commitment to and be focused on the defensive end. The Knights have to be feisty and tenacious when pressuring the ball, must rebound and box out well, and must contest shots.

Oakland-Craig's defense has to also create turnovers to create transition opportunities on offense.

The Oakland-Craig Girls lost 53-49 at North Bend Central Friday night.

North Bend Central jumped out to a 12-2 lead at the end of one. The Knights outscored the Tigers 18-12 in the second quarter to make it a 24-20 game at halftime.

North Bend Central outlasted Oakland-Craig 11-8 in the third quarter to go up 35-28 at the end of three.

The Knights won the fourth quarter 21-18..

Dacey Nelson led Oakland-Craig with 16 points while Kennedy Benne notched 11. Shannon Pille and Melanie Snader chipped in 9 apiece. Pille added 10 rebounds. 

Head Coach Joe Anderson's girls trailed early.

"That's one thing I like about our girls. We're never out of it. They never quit. They play really hard for four quarters. And they're going to pester people. Some of these teams we probably don't matchup the greatest with underneath, but they get out and play defense and they pester people, force people into turnovers."

The Knights (9-5) host Mead (3-9) Tuesday night.

The Raiders lost 84-15 at BRLD last Saturday.

Oakland-Craig shouldn't have much trouble in this game. The Knights should win with relative ease.

With that said, Oakland-Craig has to be sharp and play well from the onset. The last thing the Knights want and can afford to do is let Mead hang around.

And that's not only because Oakland-Craig doesn't want to give the Raiders hope that they can win the game, it's also because it would be a negative thing heading into the East Husker Conference Tournament.

The Knights need all the momentum they can get heading into the Conference Tournament with it being such a tough field this year.

Nelson, Benne, Pille, Snader, and Emmy Bousquet, among others, all need to have good games for Oakland-Craig Tuesday night.

The goal has to be to get out to a big and insurmountable lead so the Knights can rest starters and get younger players playing experience.

There's no reason why everyone shouldn't play in this game for Oakland-Craig.

Like I said before, the Knights should be able to win pretty easily. Oakland-Craig just can't take Mead lightly, and I fully expect them not to.

If anything this is a good tune up game for the Knights heading into the Conference Tournament.