Instant Classic!

by Doug DeKock

Oskaloosa 76 – Pella Christian 70
Double Overtime
If you were fortunate enough to attend, watch or listen to the Oskaloosa vs. Pella Christian game Friday “Instant ClassIc” might be the words that come to mind. Oskaloosa traveled to Pella for the opener of the Little Hawkeye Conference determined to shed the label of league punching bag. Pella Christian meanwhile returned a roster full of seniors with 2 straight state tournament births and a #1 ranking in some Iowa Class 2-A polls. Remember the Fab Five and all their youth and exuberance taking on the powerhouse Duke teams? This had a little bit of that feeling. Oskaloosa only played 1 senior, along with 5 juniors, 2 sophomores and 1 freshman. They were the “young guns”. P.C. counters with all seniors except for 1 or 2 juniors and a boatload of experience with one of their top players David Kacmarynski returning from a knee injury last year. The Indians upset P.C. last year in Pella and knew the Eagles would be gunning for payback.

The game started out a little shaky for both teams in front of the full house crowd. Oskaloosa super-sophomore Cole Henry continued to show why he might be Oskaloosa’s most improved player as he helped Oskaloosa to a 1st quarter lead of 11-10 by scoring 6 points in the quarter. The Indians were fortunate to be in the lead as they made 7 turnovers and P.C.’s All State guard Levi Jungling scored 8 points in the quarter.

The 2nd quarter saw the Indians come a little unraveled during a 3-4 minute stretch. P.C. took advantage and was able to take a 30-21 halftime lead. In years past this would have been a 20 point deficit but this year looks to be different. The Indians didn’t panic in the 3rd quarter as Jack Moore threw down a dunk to bring Oskaloosa within 4 and the Osky faithful to their feet. The Indians finished the quarter trailing 45-41, setting up an amazing 4th quarter.

P.C. was able to hold the lead for most of the 4th quarter, Jarad Kruse hit a shot to cut the lead to 51-48 but P.C. answered and led 55-50 with 2:00 minutes left. Kruse then hit a baby hook shot to cut the lead to 55-52. After 2 Cole Henry free throws made it 56-54, P.C. would miss their free throws setting up Oskaloosa for a chance to tie. Coach Ryan Parker called timeout and drew up the play, Henry would score underneath with just 3 seconds left to play. Jungling’s last second shot was no good as the teams went to overtime and tied at 56.

P.C. would lead the 1st overtime 59-56 at the 3:15 mark. A basket by Kruse cut the lead to 59-58 and then a 3 point play by Jack Moore tied the game at 61. P.C. would then jump back ahead before Henry hit a huge 3 pointer at the top of the key to tie the game with 8 seconds left at 64. Once again, Jungling’s last second shot was off the mark as the teams went to the 2nd overtime.

The Indians struck first in overtime on a basket by Moore. P.C. would tie it up before sophomore Rian Yates hit another huge 3 points for the Indians at the 2:22 mark to give Osky a 69-66 lead. Spencer Tucker was next up to hit a 3 pointer at the 2:00 minute mark giving Osky a 72-68 lead. After a P.C. basket cut the lead to 72-70. Oskaloosa was able to run the clock down. With 16 seconds left P.C. fouled Oskaloosa’s best free-throw shooter, junior Tanner DeKock. DeKock calmly stepped to the line and rolled the first shot in for a 73-70 lead. The second free throw swished through and Oskaloosa was on its way to an upset of a #1 ranked team. P.C. missed a shot and Spencer Tucker ended the scoring with 2 free throws for a 76-70 win for the Indians!

Sophomore Cole Henry recorded his second double-double while leading the Indians with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Henry has had an outstanding 1st 2 games. Jack Moore was next with 13 points and 7 rebounds. Junior Tanner DeKock had his best all-around game of his varsity career. DeKock scored 12 points, had 5 rebounds, 3 steals and did a nice job guarding P.C. All Stater Levi Jungling. Jarad Kruse also scored 12 points with 4 rebounds while Spencer Tucker had 9 points. Rian Yates and Xavier Foster each scored 5 points as Yates also had 6 assists. The win was the biggest for Oskaloosa Basketball in a long time. The Indians will try to run their record to 3-0 as they host Knoxville Saturday.

Posted by on Dec 4 2016. Filed under School Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Comments are closed

         

Search Archive

Search by Date
Search by Category
Search with Google
Log in | Copyright by Oskaloosa News