Little Hawkeye Conference Once Again Showcases Top-Notch Basketball
Oskaloosa Indians
by Jamie Brockman
Basketball fans in this part of the state are no strangers to excellent basketball year in and year out, but this year may be one of the best in recent years. Coming into the season we knew the boys Little Hawkeye Conference would be one of the toughest in all of Iowa, featuring some of the state’s top players. With just a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season it’s still a three-way race for the top spot between Oskaloosa, Pella and the current leader Norwalk. All three teams are ranked in the top 10 in Class 3A with Norwalk currently 4th, Pella 5th, and Oskaloosa 7th. Making it extra interesting is the fact that all three teams have beaten each other so far this season. Pella beat Norwalk 84-66 in December, but Norwalk returned the favor with an 83-76 win over the Dutch last week. Pella also beat Oskaloosa 69-61 in the final game before the holiday break and Norwalk handed Osky a 58-46 loss in their first meeting this season. Currently, Norwalk leads the LHC at 8-1, Indianola and Pella are each 6-3, and Oskaloosa is 5-2, with a busy schedule coming to close the regular season, thanks to Mother Nature. Oskaloosa controls their own destiny with games at Pella Friday night, and will then host Norwalk Saturday, February 9th. These are two must-win games for the Indians to share or win the LHC title for the second straight season. In between Oskaloosa also hosts Indianola and Grinnell, with road games at Pella Christian, who just beat Pella on Monday night, and Newton. All these games happen in the next two weeks, before beginning the postseason trail to Wells Fargo Arena.
As far as individual players, the LHC is loaded, featuring Norwalk Junior Bowen Born, who averages 32 points per game in conference play, Indianola Senior and UNI commit Evan Gauger, who averages 27 points, Oskaloosa Senior and UNI recruit Cole Henry, who averages 24 points, Pella Junior Logan Shetterly averaging 19 points, Grinnell Junior Jake Hull averaging 18, and Oskaloosa Junior Xavier Foster averaging 16 points per conference game. Oskaloosa has the top two rebounders in the conference with Foster averaging 14 per contest and Henry with an average of 11. Oskaloosa Senior Rian Yates is the top assist man in the conference averaging just over six per game, while Foster is by far the top shot blocker with 45 blocks in seven conference games, which is just under a seven per game average. In fact, the next three top shot blockers each have two more games in the stats and still, all combined together, total 46, which is just one more than Foster.
Needless to say, it’s been another fantastic season for the LHC boys teams, and it appears it will come down to the final games played to determine the champs or co-champs. So buckle up and enjoy the ride to the finish. You can follow Oskaloosa basketball every game with live audio, from Jamie Brockman, Doug DeKock, Brett Doud and John Henry, on Osky News Live Powered by Thunder Country KIIC.
LHC BOYS STANDINGS AS OF 1-30-19
Norwalk 8-1
Oskaloosa 5-2
Indianola 6-3
Pella 6-3
Grinnell 3-5
D-C-G 3-6
Pella Christian 3-6
Newton 0-8
