The Oakland-Craig Boys are 2-1 in their last three games, falling 49-40 to Logan View/Scribner-Snyder in the East Husker Conference Tournament Semifinals at North Bend Central Friday night, before beating BRLD 76-60 in the third place game on Saturday in Columbus, and downing Fremont Bergan 65-58 in overtime at home Tuesday night.
In the Logan View/Scribner-Snyder Game, the Knights led 14-12 after one. The Raiders bounced back in the second quarter, outscoring Oakland-Craig 21-11 to take a 33-25 lead into the locker room.
The Knights won the third quarter 5-4 to make it a 37-30 game at the end of three, but LV/SS notched 12 points in the fourth quarter compared to 10 for Oakland-Craig to seal the deal.
The Knights were paced by Garrett Seagren and Carter Thiele, who had 11 points apiece. Kobe Benne totaled 8 while Thiele pitched in 10 rebounds.
Head Coach Aaron Meyer on the loss. "It was just one of these games where somebody's got to step up and make a play late. And good teams got to finish things off. And I think they were 7-8 shooting free throws at the very end. And you want to win close games, you want to win big games. A lot of times it happens at the free throw line. And they were pretty clutch there."
Meyer was pleased with the way his team played. "I was very proud of the boys' efforts. We didn't finish out the second quarter the way we'd liked, but we showed some grit and battled back. It was a little slower paced game than what we normally like to play, but our help side defense made them very one dimensional on offense. We were making a run and got it to a one point game when their big made a 3 in the corner. Then they made all their free throws to finish. L.V./S-S just plain made a few more plays at the end of the game than we did."
Meyer discusses the game even more. "It's a two-edged sword. I love to have the guys shoot with confidence. Playing against a big team like this you're only to get so many things inside. You got to be able to knock down a few outside shots. I would just rather have them off the penetration and kick out, and that way you're going to have another rebounder inside there. So the three pointers I don't mind as long as they're something where the defense collapses."
The Knights held a 19-15 lead on BRLD at the end of one. Both teams scored 16 points in the second quarter, and the score at halftime was 35-31 in favor of Oakland-Craig.
The Knights blew things wide open in the third quarter, outscoring the Wolverines 28-11 to lead 63-42 at the end of three.
BRLD won the fourth quarter 18-13.
Seagren had a game-high 33 points while Thiele notched 22 points and 9 rebounds. Benne chipped in 9 points while Evan Reinert totaled 8 rebounds.
Meyer says it was an absolutely amazing performance by his team. "I don't even know where to start. Going 16 for 31 shooting 3's is unheard of. I'm not sure, but it's probably a school record. Garrett was unconscious, going 9 for 11 from deep. Carter also had some solid numbers, posting a double-double for the 4th game in a row. I was really pleased with his 7 assists. He really gave them fits at the high post against the 1-3-1. We need to stay on this path because it's headed in the right direction."
Oakland-Craig led Bergan 15-9 at the end of one and outscored them 19-13 in the second quarter to take a 34-22 lead into the locker room.
Bergan doubled up Oakland-Craig 14-7 in the third quarter to make it a 41-36 game at the end of three.
Oakland-Craig outscored Bergan 24-22 between the fourth quarter and overtime.
Thiele had 29 points and 13 rebounds, good enough for a double-double, while Seagren posted 26 points.
Meyer says his team simply has to play better. "We need to finish games better than this if we are going to be somebody in the postseason. Defensively we can't get broken down and give up drives, or give up offensive rebounds. Offensively, we have to make free throws. Period. No way around that. We also need to step up when Garrett and Carter are seeing junk defenses."
Oakland-Craig (14-6) takes on West Point-Beemer (11-11) in the regular season finale on the road Friday night.
The Cadets topped Madison 50-40 at home Tuesday night.
West Point-Beemer is a respectable team who has won three in a row and four out of their last five, and is playing good basketball at the moment.
This doesn't figure to be an easy game for the Knights as I think this contest will be tough for Oakland-Craig.
But like Meyer said, his team has to finish games better than they did against Bergan.
I look for Friday night's game to be close, but I think the Knights will win.
West Point-Beemer plays sound defense, but their offense is a bit iffy, in my opinion.
Still though the Cadets are playing pretty good basketball right now, and if Oakland-Craig doesn't play better than they did against Bergan, they could get beat.
I think if anything the Bergan game was a good wake up call for Oakland-Craig.
Oakland-Craig should now know what it's going to take to get past Sub-Districts and into a District Final and possibly state.
The Knights have plenty of work left to do, and hopefully with this game on Friday and ample practice time to get ready for the postseason, Oakland-Craig will be ready to make a postseason run.
This team is so athletic and skilled, and has some kids who can flat out ball.
The Knights' speed and athleticism blew me away when I went and watched them on Saturday.
With that said, Oakland-Craig has to play a complete game Friday night to get back on track, and I think that's something the Knights can do.
The game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull following the girls game, which is scheduled for a 6:00 p.m. start.
The Oakland-Craig Girls picked up a big 51-40 win at home over Fremont Bergan Tuesday night.
Oakland-Craig led 8-7 after one before outscoring Bergan 16-10 in the second quarter to take a 24-17 lead into the locker room.
Both teams scored 11 points in the third quarter to make the score 35-28 at the end of three in favor of Oakland-Craig.
Oakland-Craig won the fourth quarter 16-12.
Dacey Nelson led the way with 27 points and 11 rebounds, good enough for a double-double. Shannon Pille added 11 points.
This was a really good win for Oakland-Craig, in my opinion, especially considering Bergan is in their Sub-District.
Oakland-Craig (11-6) takes on West Point-Beemer (8-15) on the road Friday night.
The Cadets hammered Madison 64-25 at home Tuesday night.
West Point-Beemer also beat the Knights 61-49 on Oakland-Craig's home floor on January 27th in the first round of the East Husker Conference Tournament.
The key for the Knights this time around is to get Nelson going.
The Cadets limited her in the first matchup, and she needs to get going for Oakland-Craig to come out on top this time, in my opinion.
The Knights also need players like Pille, Melanie Snader, Emmy Bousquet, and Kennedy Benne to step up and help her out.
Oakland-Craig has to be fired up and determined to get the job done this time around given what happened against West Point-Beemer in the first matchup.
This game has no bearing on postseason seedings or anything like that, but the Knights want this one for pride purposes more than anything you would think.
I'm sure Oakland-Craig probably feels they're a better team than what they showed the first time around against the Cadets, and I would agree with that.
That's why I look for the Knights to turn things around and play better this time around.
I think it's a toss up who wins this game, but I will say I think it's going to be close and tightly contested this time around.
Oakland-Craig just has to play better on offense and defense to come away with a win this time around I would say.
That's what it comes down to, in my opinion.
The Knights have to defend the post well, and try and slow down the likes of Bethany Anderson if they can.
Friday night's game can be heard on 107.9 the Bull beginning at 6:00.
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