Parker Picks Up 200th Win
Iszac Schultz had 15 points and 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block. (photo by Denis Currier/Oskaloosa News)
by Jamie Brockman
Head Coach Ryan Parker returned to the bench Tuesday night and picked up his 200th career win as the Oskaloosa boys won a thriller 54-52 over Washington.
Still playing without seven-footer Xavier Foster, who is out with mono, the Indians knew they were in for a tough, physical challenge with the 3-1 Washington Demons. Noah Van Veldhuizen got the Indians out to a red hot start, duplicating his performance from last year at Washington, draining four first-quarter three-pointers as Oskaloosa raced out to a 24-13 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Demons flipped the script in the second quarter, finding their groove from long range and outscored the Indians 18-4 in the second quarter, taking a 31-28 lead into halftime.
After battling to a 44-44 tie following the third quarter, it was a slower-paced fourth quarter. Following a scoreless three minutes, Van Veldhuizen drained his sixth three-pointer putting Osky ahead 47-44 with five minutes remaining. Osky also got a couple of critical layups from Seniors Iszac Schultz and Colton Butler to gain a 51-46 lead with 3:30 left to play, but the action was far from over. Holding a 53-52 lead with a minute remaining, Osky missed two shots at the rim. Now, Washington had a chance to win the game, but Osky came up with a big steal from Van Veldhuizen, forcing the Demons to foul with:36 seconds remaining. Not in the bonus yet, Oskaloosa committed a turnover, once again giving the Demons a chance to win, but they missed two long shots. A long rebound chased down by Iszac Schultz resulted in an intentional foul called on the Demons, with:09 seconds left on the clock and now Schultz had a chance to end the game at the free-throw line. Schultz hit one of two, putting the Indians up 54-52, and again, the Demons were forced to foul. After missing the free throw, a controversial foul was called on Butler fighting for the rebound, giving the Demons possession, coming out of a timeout with:03 seconds remaining. Washington threw the ball away on the inbound. Coach Parker then called a timeout to set up the Indians strategy for the final seconds. On the inbound, Keaton Flaherty was fouled but missed the free throw, and Washington fired an unsuccessful full-court shot at the buzzer, giving Osky the 54-52 win.
Following the game on the Indians Network post-game, Coach Ryan Parker said. It’s Good to be back and thanked everyone for their patience and understanding and credited coaches and players for fighting through adversity. “I’ve been battling kidney issues, and it’s just good to be back with my guys,” Parker said. He went on to say “We’ve got some shooters on this team, however when you start missing those shots it leads to transition buckets for the other team, and then their freshman Patterson got hot, and that was the difference in the second quarter. We’re still trying to learn how to play without Xavier, but this might be the best thing for us right now gaining confidence playing without him for later in the season if Xaviers in foul trouble or fouled out.” He ended by giving credit to former players over his six years at Ellsbury, Missouri, and six seasons at Oskaloosa for his 200th win.
Noah Van Veldhuizen led the Indians with 20 points, Iszac Schultz added 15, and Keaton Flaherty scored ten while Butler dumped in eight.
Oskaloosa improved to 3-2 for the season and will head to Newton looking for their first LHC win on Friday, then finish the 2019 portion of their season hosting Eddyville Blakesburg Fremont on Saturday. You can follow the Indians both nights on www.indiansnetwork.tv or on MCG channel 7. Friday’s broadcast from Newton will be audio-only due to restrictions put in place by the Little Hawkeye Conference.
