Indians get payback against Dallas Center Grimes 67-56

Spencer Tucker drives against DCG on Monday night.

By Doug DeKock

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The last time these two teams played on January 27th, the DCG Mustangs pulled out a hard-fought 2 point win 52-50 on a last second shot.

There would be no need for last second shots in this one, as the Indians built a 25 point lead midway through the 4th quarter. Oskaloosa played their best half of basketball in the second half after only leading 28-25 in the first.

Sophomore Rian Yates was the man on this night, as he drained five 3-pointers on the way to 17 points in the game.

Oskaloosa led this one from the start and had a 4 point lead after one quarter at 17-13. Both offenses struggled in the second quarter with DCG outscoring the Indians 12-11 and only trailing by 3 at the half at 28-25. Oskaloosa’s defense, which has been playing much better as of late, stifled the Mustangs while the offense took off behind a 3-point barrage from Yates, Jarad Kruse, and Xavier Foster. The Mustangs could only manage 7 points in the quarter while the Indian offense exploded for 22 points and a comfortable 50-32 lead after three quarters. DCG would fall behind by 25 before both teams started subbing in the 4th quarter. The final score of 67-56 was not indicative of the dominance the Indians displayed on Monday night. Oskaloosa has won 4 out of 5 games.

Much like the rest of the season, Oskaloosa had 3 players in double figures, Yates with 17, Cole Henry with 16, and Jarad Kruse with 13 points. Foster was next in line with 8 points, Jack Moore had 6 points, while Tanner DeKock and Spencer Tucker scored 4 and 3 respectively.

The win improves the Indians record to 12-8 overall and 6-8 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. DCG drops to 12-8 overall and 7-7 in conference play. The Indians go for their 13th win Tuesday night in Chariton in the season ending game.