The Oakland-Craig Boys Basketball Team fell 58-52 at home to North Bend Central Friday night in action aired on 107.9 the Bull before losing 69-42 to Treynor, IA at Sokol Arena in Omaha on Saturday.
Oakland-Craig went on a 7-0 run to start the game against the Tigers, and led 9-2. But North Bend Central went on a 7-0 run of their own and scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to take a 16-13 lead.
Jaxon Wietfeld took over for the Tiger in the second quarter, scoring eight points in helping NBC to a 31-23 halftime lead.
Oakland-Craig came out strong in the third quarter, outscoring NBC 14-11, but the Tigers still held a 42-37 advantage after three.
A key stat throughout the first three quarters were the charge fouls called against NBC on offense. The Tigers had six called against them in the first three frames, and seven in the game. And Oakland-Craig had three charges called on them. Both teams were playing very fast and very aggressive, which created an exciting atmosphere, but also resulted in the unusually high amount of fouls on offense.
Oakland-Craig was able to pull with three points at 49-46 with just over three minutes left in the game.
North Bend Central then went on a 6-0 run to lead 55-46. The Tigers made free throws down the stretch and were leading 58-49 when O-C’s Colton Thomsen made a three pointer as time expired.
Caden Nelson led Oakland-Craig with 16 points and Gunnar Ray added 12 and Thomsen 7. Wyatt Seagren notched 11 rebounds while Coulter Thiele had 8.
The Knights were tied at 10 at the end of one with Treyor. The Cardinals outscored Oakland-Craig 21-11 in the 2nd quarter to take a 31-21 lead into the locker room.
Treynor outscored the Knights 20-7 in the 3rd quarter to extend their lead to 51-28 at the end of three.
The Cardinals won the 4th quarter 18-14.
Seagren registered 16 points and 9 rebounds while Thomsen recorded 11 points.
Two tough setbacks for Oakland-Craig.
The Knights (13-5) travel to Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family (14-2) to take on the Bulldogs Tuesday night.
H/LHF lost 74-52 at BRLD Friday night.
The same Wolverines team that beat Oakland-Craig 66-37 last Saturday.
So Oakland-Craig kind of comes into this game stumbling a bit you could say.
The Knights have kind of hit a road block and rough patch in the season.
Oakland-Craig is kind of limping and stumbling into the East Husker Conference Tournament.
The Knights could use a really good game Tuesday night.
I think the tough competition Oakland-Craig has played has led to their recent struggles as has losing to these teams.
The Knights were rolling at one point, and need to get back to that.
I really feel like Oakland-Craig has a chance to get back on track in the Conference Tournament.
The Knights open up with Tekamah-Herman on Saturday and will likely get Logan View/Scribner-Snyder in the Quarterfinals next Tuesday.
So not to take away the importance of the game with the Bulldogs, because this one is obviously very important, but I feel Oakland-Craig is in good shape for the Conference Tournament win or lose on Tuesday.
The matchups are already decided so nothing to play for in terms of seeding.
However, this is a big game for the Wildcard point standings should the Knights need a wildcard to get into Sub-State.
A win for Oakland-Craig would be really big so we'll see if the Knights can win and get the job done against a really good H/LHF team.
The Bulldogs' two losses are to North Bend Central and BRLD so you know the defending D-1 State Champs are a really good team.
Oakland-Craig is a really good team themselves though so the Knights have to go into Humphrey or Lindsay and put on a show.
The Oakland-Craig Girls nipped North Bend Central 40-39 at home Friday night in action aired on 107.9 the Bull before beating Class B Norris 48-40 at Sokol Arena in Omaha on Saturday.
The NBC game featured a match up of previously unbeatens, with both teams heading in at 15-0. The game was tightly contested throughout, and the game was tied 10-10 at the end of the first quarter.
The Knights were able to hold NBC to just six points in the second quarter, and Oakland-Craig took a 22-16 lead into halftime.
Oakland-Craig stretched their lead to 10 early in the second half, but they were eventually held to just five points in the third quarter, and the Tigers didn’t score in the third until almost two minutes left, but they went on a run late in the frame, adding nine points, making the score Oakland-Craig 27, NBC 25 after three.
The Knights started to create a little separation in the fourth, but NBC went on a small scoring run, and cut the score to 40-39 with 9.6 seconds to go.
The Tigers had the basketball on their side of the floor down one with 9.6 seconds left and a chance to win the game. A shot from Sydney Emanuel missed off the right side of the rim and time expired, preserving the victory for Oakland-Craig.
Kennedy Benne scored 12 points to lead O-C, with Chaney Nelson adding eight. Makenna Pearson registered 7 points while Jeannina Blahak totaled 7 rebounds.
The Titans got out to an 8-6 lead at the end of one. The Knights won the 2nd quarter 12-8 to take an 18-16 lead into the locker room.
Oakland-Craig won the 3rd quarter 14-10 to extend their lead to 32-26 at the end of three.
The Knights won the 4th quarter 16-14.
Benne registered a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds while Blahak posted 7 boards.
A couple of really great wins for Oakland-Craig.
The Knights (17-0) take on Humphrey/Lindsay Holy/Family (16-1) on the road Tuesday night.
The Bulldogs won 74-71 at BRLD Friday night.
I really feel the Wolverines have regressed somewhat ever since losing to Oakland-Craig.
Not take anything away from H/LHF's win over them, but I feel like the Knights' win over BRLD was more impressive than the Bulldogs'.
And that's why I like Oakland-Craig to win this one.
This is the only game of the week for the Knights as after Tuesday they are off until next Monday due to having a bye in the East Husker Conference Tournament.
This is a huge game heading into the tournament though.
This game doesn't affect seeding, but it affects momentum and could impact how each team performs in the Tournament.
These two teams would have to both get through the Semifinals and play in the Championship to see one another again more than likely, but that could definitely happen.
So it's Round One of what could potentially be a couple of matchups.
I think the biggest thing for Oakland-Craig is to be disciplined and level headed.
The Knights are coming off two great wins, no doubt about that, but if they aren't focused and ready for the Bulldogs they could get beat.
Oakland-Craig is always so well disciplined and ready and prepared to play though that I don't see that happening or being an issue.
I look for the Knights to come out and play a strong game Tuesday night, and turn in a stout performance against Humphrey/Lindsay Holy Family.
A win for Oakland-Craig would be another shot of momentum you could say.
I feel a victory would be very uplifting for the Knights and would give them all kinds of momentum heading into the Conference Tournament.
Not that Oakland-Craig needs any more momentum right now, but it would give the Knights an abundance of it.
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