The Oakland-Craig Boys Basketball Team lost on a halfcourt shot at the buzzer by Stanton's Marcus Spotanski Friday night, losing 41-39 at Stanton. The Knights followed that up with an 88-36 win at Walthill Tuesday night.
The Mustangs got up 8-5 on the Knights after one before Oakland-Craig won the 2nd quarter 14-13 to make it a 21-19 game at halftime in favor of Stanton.
The Mustangs won the 3rd quarter 6-4 to to go up 27-23 at the end of three.
The Knights took the 4th quarter 16-14.
Tyson Harney led the way with 9 points while Garrison Dodge and Gunnar Ray notched 8 and 7, respectively. Wyatt Seagren added 11 rebounds.
The Knights got out to a 19-9 lead on the Blujays after one. Oakland-Craig outscored Walthill 26-14 in the 2nd quarter to take a 45-23 lead into the locker room.
The Knights outscored the Blujays 22-7 in the 3rd quarter to go up 67-30 at the end of three.
Oakland-Craig outscored Walthill 21-6 in the 4th quarter.
Ray had a team-high 18 points while Seagren totaled 15 points and 9 rebounds. Jaron Meyer added 13 points and 7 rebounds while Harney notched 10 points. Colton Thomsen chipped in 9 while Blake Johnson and Coulter Thiele registered 8 and 7, respectively.
Head Coach Aaron Meyer says he simply let his team do their thing. "Honestly, I had to turn them loose, and restrict my coaching. I think I tend to overcoach sometimes. I needed to put some trust in them, and they responded well. We came after them defensively, and created a lot of points off turnovers. We also took 4 legitimate charges, and our help side defense was outstanding."
Oakland-Craig (8-6) plays host to BRLD (10-1) Friday night in action that will be aired on 107.9 the Bull.
The Wolverines won 91-40 at home over Homer Monday night.
Meyer says he wants his team to focus on themselves and let the rest take care of itself. "They are a very good basketball team and deserve a lot of respect. The thing I’m trying to get my guys to understand is that I’m not all about wins and losses. I want us to work as hard as we possibly can. Then the score will work itself out. This game won’t make or break our season."
I would say there is a bit of a rivalry starting to brew between these two teams.
Meyer. "The fact that they are in our sub districts really means nothing to me until sub districts. You could call them a rival, I suppose. They have the record, recent history, and the ranking. We have nothing to lose."
Coach Meyer is right, the Knights have absolutely nothing to lose in this game.
All the pressure should be squarely on BRLD's shoulders and not Oakland-Craig;s.
The Knights just have to go out there and play the way they did Tuesday night.
The way Oakland-Craig played Tuesday night is the blueprint for success in my book.
The Wolverines beat the Blujays by about the same score so I think Friday night's game has all the makings of being a great one.
The Knights should look and see what Howells-Dodge did, and find some motivation and drive from that result.
The Jaguars upset BRLD so Oakland-Craig knows it can very well happen.
Anyone can be beaten on any given night, and that's something the Knights have to keep in mind while playing the best they possibly can.
Oakland-Craig has to go out there and play their hearts out and leave everything out on the floor.
The Knights have to give it all they got, and let the result of the game take care of itself.
Creating turnovers and playing great help side defense like they did Tuesday night is going to be critical for Oakland-Craig in this one I feel.
The game will start after the girls game, which is slated to begin at 6:00 p.m. on the Bull.
The Oakland-Craig Girls held off a strong charge from Stanton Friday night, winning 44-39 on the road. Oakland-Craig then defeated Elwmood-Murdock 62-38 at home on Saturday.
Stanton led the Knights 11-7 after one, and won the 2nd quarter 12-10 to take a 23-17 lead into the locker room.
Oakland-Craig doubled up Stanton 12-6 in the 3rd quarter to tie the game at 29 at the end of three.
The Knights won the 4th quarter 15-10.
Dacey Nelson led all scorers with 24 points while Jeannina Blahak totaled 10 rebounds.
Oakland-Craig doubled up Elwmood-Murdock 12-6 in the 1st quarter. O-C won the 2nd quarter 15-13 to go up 27-19 at halftime.
Oakland-Craig outscored Elwmood-Murdock 17-5 in the 3rd quarter to lead 44-24 at the end of three.
O-C won the 4th quarter 18-14.
Nelson led the way with 30 points and 8 rebounds while Ashley Denton had 8 points. Makenna Pearson added 7 while Mya Guzinski recorded 7 rebounds.
I thought Oakland-Craig did a really good job of passing both tests over the weekend, but especially against Stanton Friday night.
The Knights (12-0) host BRLD (10-3) in action that will be aired on 107.9 the Bull Friday night.
The Wolverines beat Homer 56-54 at home Monday night after knocking off previously unbeaten West Point-Beemer 49-33 on the road Saturday.
Head Coach Joe Anderson says this is a really big test for his team. "This is the kind of game that we need right now. BRLD is a very talented team and is playing very well. We will have to raise our level of play if we want to win. We have shown flashes of being a very good basketball team, but we have to be more consistent. We have yet to put 4 good quarters together."
Nelson has led Oakland-Craig all season long.
Anderson says she's a very special player. "Dacey is an outstanding basketball player. She puts in so much extra time that people do not realize. She obviously makes us go on the offensive end (scoring 27 ppg). With Kennedy Benne still out, many people have tried to run junk defenses on her, but she is skilled enough to find a way to score."
As good as Nelson is, it might take some scoring contributions from others for the Knights to get over the hump and win.
Anderson breaks down the matchup with the Wolverines. "BRLD is really good on the offensive end. They do a good job of getting out in transition, and they really shoot the ball well. We are going to have to play 4 great quarters of team defense. Offensively we are going to have to knock some shots down against their zone based defense. We have multiple girls that can score, we just have to be more consistent shooters."
This should be an incredible game between two very good and great teams.
I look for Oakland-Craig to come out and play great like they have all season long.
It will be interesting to see what the Wolverines try and do defensively.
BRLD ran a triangle and two on West Point-Beemer so maybe they'll run a box-and-one on Nelson?
I guess I will say I don't have the answer to that and it's all the more reason to tune in to the Bull Friday night.
Former Sports Director Tom McMahon will be on the call of the games, and both games should be good and have a chance to come down to the wire I feel.
The girls game will start at 6:00 p.m. on the Bull with the boys game to follow.
This is one of many big games coming up before the East Husker Conference Tournament for the Knights.
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