The Oakland-Craig Boys downed Stanton 62-54 in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament at Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family on Saturday.
The Knights led 22-15 at the end of one before outscoring the Mustangs 16-10 in the second quarter to take a 38-25 lead into the locker room.
Stanton won the third quarter 14-12 to make it a 50-39 game at the end of three.
The Mustangs also won the fourth quarter 15-12.
Carter Thiele poured in 27 points and 12 rebounds, good enough for a double-double. Evan Reinert and Garrett Seagren added 10 points apiece while Seagren and Wyatt Seagren registered 7 rebounds each.
Head Coach Aaron Meyer says his team played well for the most part, but they could finish better. "Our game plan was to come out and set the tone early, to play a fast, full court game. At the same time, we sped them up in the half court, which was to our advantage. Carter had an outstanding game not only stats wise, but he was able to attack his man and get him into foul trouble. I'd still love to see us finish the game off though. There were a couple minutes at the end where we faltered on both ends of the court, leading to a tight finish."
Oakland-Craig (11-5) squares off with Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (15-2) in the second round off the East Husker Conference Tournament at Logan View/Scribner-Snyder Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs defeated Tekamah-Herman 64-22 in the first round of the tournament at home on Saturday.
I would give Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family the nod in this game simply because the Bulldogs beat BRLD 71-54 while the Knights lost 63-50 to the Wolverines.
Scores don't mean everything though and Oakland-Craig has a good team so they could very well win.
Both Seagrens, Thiele, Reinert, and Kobe Benne need to have good games offensively.
I think Tuesday night's game is going to be very high scoring and entertaining.
I think the keys for the Knights include playing good defense and knocking down shots.
Oakland-Craig has to stop dribble penetration so the Bulldogs can't get to the hole and kick the ball out for good three point attempts.
To go along with that, the Knights need to force turnovers and score easy baskets in transition.
Oakland-Craig also has to shoot the 3 ball well.
To go along with that as well, the biggest thing for the Knights, in my opinion, is playing four strong quarters of basketball and finishing.
Oakland-Craig has to play the way they did in the first half against Stanton the entire way Tuesday night.
If the Knights can do that I think they've got a shot to win.
If Oakland-Craig wins Tuesday night they get either Logan View/Scribner-Snyder or Madison on Friday. If the Knights lose they get the loser of BRLD and Twin River on Friday.
The Oakland-Craig Girls lost 61-49 at home to West Point-Beemer in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament Friday night.
The Cadets led 10-6 at the end of one. The Knights outscored West Point-Beemer 17-14 in the second quarter to make it a 24-23 game at half in favor of the Cadets.
West Point-Beemer outlasted Oakland-Craig 19-14 in the third quarter to go up 43-37 at the end of three.
The Cadets won the fourth quarter 18-12.
Oakland-Craig was led by Kennedy Benne, who scored 18 points. Dacey Nelson added 10 points and 7 rebounds while Shannon Pille totaled 9 points and 7 rebounds.
This was a tough loss for the Knights there's no doubt about it.
Oakland-Craig (9-6) takes on Clarkson/Leigh (7-10) in a consolation game of the tournament at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday in Genoa.
The Patriots lost 44-34 to BRLD in the first round of the tournament Friday night.
The Knights knocked off Clarkson/Leigh 47-43 at home on December 6th.
Oakland-Craig has to forget about what happened against West Point-Beemer and refocus and regather themselves for this contest with the Patriots.
It might take the weekend to get over the loss to the Cadets, but come Monday, the Knights have to be ready to get back to work.
Oakland-Craig has to be focused and ready to play on Thursday. The Knights have to want to be there, and be motivated.
The motivation factor is a little bit of a concern for me after Oakland-Craig won the tournament last year.
I can definitely see Clarkson/Leigh wanting to be there more than the Knights.
Oakland-Craig can definitely win though. The Patriots aren't quite as dynamic offensively as West Point-Beemer is.
Nelson, Pille, Benne, and Emmy Bousquet all need to have good games for the Knights.
Oakland-Craig has to come out fired up and ready to go Thursday night.
The Knights have to physically prepare themselves for the game by working hard in the weight room, and must also mentally prepare themselves as well.
Oakland-Craig has two very tough, but winnable games following this game so this game with Clarkson/Leigh is very important in terms of confidence and momentum heading into the final two games of the regular season.
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