Indians Fall Twice in LHC Action
by Wade Steinlage
Oskaloosa–The Oskaloosa boys’ basketball team was a worthy competitor against a pair of teams ahead of it in the league standings, but unfortunately could not take down either last week.
OHS (2-7, 0-5 LHC) fell to then-Class 3A #10 Pella 64-47 last Tuesday and lost to Indianola 61-45 last Friday.
The Indians could not overtime slow starts in both the first and third quarters against Pella, which posed doom for the visitors. Oskaloosa trailed 16-3 after the first quarter, but closed to within 11 by halftime (23-12) with a 9-7 margin in the second quarter.
OHS came out of intermission slowly, but regrouped and stayed within striking distance, only being outscored 41-35 in the latter half.
Keaton Flaherty topped the Indians with 15 points on 7-for-17 shooting, while Aidan Scholes finished with 10 points off the bench.
David Nelson added seven points and Jakob Stek managed a six-point performance. Carson Genskow ended up with four points and four assists, while Waylon Bolibaugh managed six rebounds and a trio of steals.
The Indians were outshot 45.7%-39.6%, but more importantly were outscored 16-3 at the free-throw line.
OHS came up short in rebounding at 26-21 and also committed five more turnovers (21-16).
The Indians battled to the bitter end against the other Indians in the LHC. Oskaloosa trailed 27-18 at halftime, but pulled to within 43-38 entering the fourth quarter. The late-quarter run extended into the fourth period as the hosts closed to two points at 43-41.
Unfortunately, Indianola pulled away down the stretch, outscoring Oskaloosa 18-7 in the final eight minutes of regulation.
It was another huge night for Flaherty, who tallied 22 points on 8-for-18 shooting (3-for-7 3-PT). In a game that featured only 39 rebounds (21-18 in favor of Indianola), Flaherty also pulled down six boards. He assisted three times as well.
Will Schultz was next with seven points, while also managing five steals. A few of those thefts came during OHS’ third-quarter rally. Bolibaugh added five points in the setback as well.
Oskaloosa fell well shy from the field, 56.4%-40.5%, but was better from the perimeter, 42.9%-40.0% on a 6-for-14 shooting. The host Indians struggled from the charity stripe with a 4-for-9 showing.
“We are improving each day and each game,” Head Coach Brandon Lenhart said. “We are playing at the level and with the basketball IQ that is necessary to be successful in this great conference, but for just some of the game. We need to put together 32 minutes together night in and night out. We have a quality basketball team, now it is up to us on how good we want to be.”
Next Up: Oskaloosa travels to Pella Tuesday to face Pella Christian in LHC play at 7:45 p.m. The Indians then host Grinnell Friday at 7:45 p.m.
