The North Bend Central Boys Basketball Team topped Oakland-Craig 73-66 in overtime on the road Friday night in action heard on 107.9 the Bull.
Both teams' offenses were strong early on as North Bend Central got out to a 21-19 lead at the end of one.
The Knights held a 30-29 lead in the 2nd quarter, but the Tigers ended the half on a mini 5-0 run to take a 34-30 lead into the locker room.
Oakland-Craig Head Coach Aaron Meyer says that was a key point in the game. "One of those deals where we didn't end the 1st half well. We gave up a 3. Went from a one point lead to a 4. Loved the way we made a big run at the end of regulation. But you get into overtime, and maybe I made the mistake of telling the guys you got to be one of the first ones to draw blood. They got a 2 and then they got a 3, and in overtime that's just hard to get behind the 8 ball on the first two possessions like that. But North Bend's very, very talented. And we were up to the challenge. That was a great game."
North Bend Central scored the first 4 points of the 3rd quarter to make it a 38-30 game, capping off a 9-0 run.
The Tigers eventually led 48-42 heading into the 4th quarter.
The Knights outsored North Bend Central 18-12 in the final period to force OT with the game tied at 60.
The Tigers scored the first 7 points of overtime in outscoring Oakland-Craig 13-6 in the extra session.
North Bend Central Head Coach Jon Baehr says that was the difference in the game. "Yeah we talked on the bench just to stay with it, do our job, make sure we're communicating on defense, and make sure we got a good offensive possession. And we were able to do that. Just fortunate to come away with it this time."
Baehr adds it was a great battle between the two teams. "I thought our guys responded very well. When it got tough towards the end I thought we had some opportunities to maybe kind of put the game away, but credit to Oakland for doing what they needed to do to get us into overtime. And then I thought we did some great things in overtime to kind of propel us in the end. So great high school basketball game for sure."
John Emanuel finished with a team-high 23 points for the Tigers, who improve to 12-2 on the year. Tanner Wietfeld added 19 while Austin Endorf scored 11. "When you're playing these guys you need multiple guys to step up and play good basketball. And we were fortunate enough tonight to have guys hit some big shots at some key times. Austin Endorf he hit a couple huge 3's for us there late in the game. And Jaxon Wietfeld took a huge charge for us late in the game. You need so many guys to step up and play when you're playing a team like this, and we were able to do that tonight."
North Bend Central takes on Wisner-Pilger (12-4) on the road Thursday night.
The Gators won 58-47 at Pender this past Thursday night.
The Pendragons certainly challenged and gave Wisner-Pilger a great game, and I look for the Tigers to do the same except win.
I feel that North Bend Central is a bit of a stronger team than the Gators. Not by a lot, but just by a little bit.
This game is huge in terms of confidence and momentum heading into the East Husker Conference Tournament.
I feel the Tigers have the easier road back to the finals than Wisner-Pilger has to getting there, but I think both teams have a good chance to be playing at Central Community College in Columbus next Saturday.
Emanuel, Tanner Wietfeld, Jaxon Wietfeld, and Endorf were all clutch and key for North Bend Central down the stretch against Oakland-Craig, and that was a really good win for the Tigers.
The road back to the East Husker Conference Finals is certainly a tough and challenging one for the Tigers, but it's a road I think North Bend Central is eager to take.
I think the Tigers are hungry and fueled to get back to the East Husker Conference Tournament Championship Game.
Standing in the way includes the likes of West Point-Beemer, Howells-Dodge, Pender, and BRLD.
The road and path back to Columbus is not an easy one, but I'm sure North Bend Central would tell you they would rather have it no other way.
You want things to be tough, you want to be able to earn your wins and championships, and if the Tigers make it back to Columbus this year they will have done just that.
I think the Cadets pose a huge threat to the Tigers given how well West Point-Beemer has played lately.
North Bend Central should have no issues with Tekamah-Herman in the first round, but the game against the Cadets figures to be tricky should the Cadets get past Madison in their first game.
Things get tougher the further the Tigers advance in the tournament so we will see just how good and prepared North Bend Central is.
First things first though the Tigers have to worry about beating Wisner-Pilger on Thursday.
The North Bend Central Girls Basketball Team overcame a slow start offensively to beat Oakland-Craig 35-26 on the road Friday night in action heard on 107.9 the Bull.
Oakland-Craig got out to a strong start and held an early lead, 11-8, at the end of the 1st quarter.
North Bend Central battled back to go up 16-12 in the 2nd quarter before the Knights went on a mini 5-0 run to conclude the first half, capped off by Mya Guzinski's 3-pointer to end the half.
Head Coach Aaron Sterup says his team got off to a sluggish start. "Yeah we didn't have a lot of intensity I don't think to start the game. I told the girls twice I felt like they were walking in cement there. Not our usual intensity. And so we picked it up a little bit in the 2nd half. We still weren't perfect in that area I don't think, but they picked it up enough and played enough defense that we were able to win on a bad offensive night."
5'11 Sr. Brooke Fredrickson, a Midland Volleyball signee, scored 9 of her team-high 11 points in the final 16 minutes as North Bend Central outscored Oakland-Craig 13-5 in the 3rd quarter to go up 29-22 at the end of three. "Yeah we knew we had an advantage inside. We wanted to get the ball in there. And we didn't do a very good job in the first half, partly because she was in foul trouble, but she was kind of able to control that area in the 2nd half, and it was really the reason that we were able to kind of get that run that got us ahead," Sterup said.
North Bend Central went on an 11-0 run in the 3rd quarter to lead 32-22 after trailing 22-21.
The Tigers won the 4th quarter 6-4.
In addition to Fredrickson's offensive numbers, West Virginia Volleyball signee Kristin Lux and Lauren Emanuel totaled 9 points apiece for North Bend Central, who upped their record to 12-3 on the year.
Slow start for the Tigers, but North Bend Central came through in the 2nd half when it mattered most.
The Tigers take on Wisner-Pilger (6-11) on the road Thursday night.
The Gators won 41-28 at Pender this past Thursday night.
I've said all along that Wisner-Pilger is a better team than their record.
I think North Bend Central will win, but the Tigers have to play much better than they did against the Knights.
The Gators have a great post player in Jordan Wegner, and you can bet her and Fredrickson will have a great battle inside.
This figures to be a great battle between two solid teams.
Wisner-Pilger features Wegner, Maci Batenhorst, Ariel Meyer, Ashton Meyer, Karrin Jindra, Aspin Waterman, and others.
I think the Tigers are going to have to hit their close range shots and free throws to knock off the Gators.
North Bend Central isn't the strongest team when it comes to scoring from the outside so the Tigers have to rely on their strong post and inside play to propel them to a win.
Fredrickson, Lux, and Emanuel have to score and produce for North Bend Central just like they did against Oakland-Craig.
The trio combined for 29 of the team's 35 points against the Knights so you can see by that how important these three are to the Tigers.
I think North Bend Central has a chance to make another run in the East Husker Conference Tournament and get to the finals, but teams like Howells-Dodge, Wisner-Pilger, and West Point-Beemer figure to stand in their way.
The Tigers have to get out of this little slump they're currently in and right the ship on Thursday.
I think it's good North Bend Central has this game on Thursday so they can fine tune and fix anything that is currently hampering them prior to the tournament.
I feel a win, especially if it's by double digits, will give the Tigers more confidence and reassurance heading into the Conference Tournament.
North Bend Central had a tough loss to Columbus Scotus, but hopefully the struggles of that game and the struggles on offense against Oakland-Craig are out of the Tigers' system by now.
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