Indians secure winning season by beating Indianola 63-53
Oskaloosa sneior Jack Moore drives to the hoop and draws the foul against Indianola on Friday night.
by Doug DeKock
Having a winning season may not be a big deal for a lot of schools, but when you haven’t had one since 2010-2011, it is a big deal. The Indians basketball program has risen from the ashes to not only have a winning season, but are also scheduled to host 2 district games here in Oskaloosa.
The Indians have the #1 seed in their district and will host Washington on Monday, February 20th, following the Knoxville vs. Fairfield game. If Oskaloosa wins Monday, they will face the Knoxville vs. Fairfield winner in the district championship on February 24th.
The game against Indianola was not the prettiest, as Oskaloosa was coming off another tough loss on Tuesday at Pella. Indianola jumped out fast as sophomore Evan Gauger torched the Indians for 7 quick points. The 2-17 Indians played hard and beat the Indians on the offensive glass numerous times throughout the game. The score after one quarter was 16-11 Indianola, but easily could have been worse than that.
Oskaloosa woke up in the 2nd quarter, especially on defense, where they held the Indians to just one field goal in the quarter. Indianola only managed 4 points in the quarter, and Oskaloosa built a 29-20 halftime lead. Indianola would continue to scrap in the 3rd quarter and actually outscored Oskaloosa by 5 points to only trail by a score of 40-36 after the 3rd quarter. Both teams would pick up the scoring in the 4th quarter and Indianola was still only trailing by 4, with 3 minutes left in the game. Oskaloosa was able to hit some clutch shots down the stretch, along with some free throws to pull out the 63-53 win.
Oskaloosa was led by junior Jarad Kruse, who had one of his best statistical games of the year, with 15 points and 17 rebounds. As has been the case all year, numerous Indians scored, with 2 others in double figures; Jack Moore and Cole Henry each scored 13 points, while Henry pulled down 6 rebounds. Xavier Foster scored 9 points and Rian Yates has 6 points. Tanner DeKock and Spencer Tucker rounded out the scoring with 4 and 3 points, respectively. Oskaloosa improves to 11-8 overall and 5-8 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. Indianola drops to 2-18 overall and 1-13 in the conference. Oskaloosa will host ranked DCG on Monday night in a rescheduled game.
