Indians To Face-off With Blue Jays Thursday Night
Sr. Xavier Foster helped lead the Indians over Carlisle to advance to the semi-finals on Thursday night. (Oskaloosa News staff photo)
by Jamie Brockman
After an up and down regular season filled with injuries and sicknesses, the Indians finished the regular season 8-13 and 3-11 in the LHC.
Oskaloosa opened the 3A postseason and began their road back to Wells Fargo Arena with a 53-40 win over Carlisle to advance to the semifinal round. They will host Bondurant- Farrar on Thursday night after the Bluejays handled Newton to advance as well.
It took the Indians a bit to get rolling Monday night as they held a 15-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. A slow start to the second quarter changed about midway through the quarter as intense Indians defense got their offense rolling, giving them a 29-23 lead at halftime.
The third quarter was the difference maker as Osky outscored Carlisle 16-4 to open up an 18 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
That third quarter was a highlight reel for the Indians, featuring a powerful dunk from seven-footer Xavier Foster where he picked up his dribble at the top of the key, exploded down the lane with two huge steps and flew about eight feet to hammer it down.
Noah Van Veldhuizen and Iszac Schultz also each had several big plays in the quarter. Defensively and offensively.
Oskaloosa’s effort let up a bit in the fourth quarter, and they were outscored 13-8 but still walked out with the 53-40 win to improve to 9-13 overall.
Foster led Oskaloosa with 22 points, Noah Van Veldhuizen continued his hot long-range shooting draining four three-pointers to finish with 14 points. Van Veldhuizen’s now hit 15 three-pointers in their last three games and is averaging 18.5 points over the last three games. Iszac Schultz scored 11, Charlie North had four points, and Colton Butler added two points.
Oskaloosa will host Bondurant-Farrar Thursday at 7 pm in the Sub State Semifinals.
The Bluejays upset Newton 67-53 to advance. In that win, Bondurant-Farrar shot very well and played very hard with a lot of energy and intensity that Oskaloosa will have to match to win.
Other games in our bracket had Grinnell beating Knoxville 77-54, and Pella handled Centerville 95-53, setting up a Pella vs. Grinnell semifinal in Pella Thursday night. The two winners will match up in Knoxville in the Sub State final on Monday to earn a trip to the 3A State Tournament, where Oskaloosa hopes to end their season for the third straight year.
Thursday’s Oskaloosa game will be broadcast live on the Indians Network. You can watch the live video stream at www.indiansnetwork.tv or on MCG Channel 7 with pregame at 6:40 pm and tip-off scheduled for 7 pm. The game can also be heard live on Thunder Country 96.7 FM KIIC.
