Pella Dutch Stand In The Way For A Return To The Well
Oskaloosa Senior Iszac Schultz gets control of the ball from a Bondurant-Farrar team that battled to the end on Thursday night.
Oskaloosa came out ready to go in their District Final Thursday night, earning a 70-58 win over Bondurant Farrar.
The win advances the Indians to Sub State for the fourth consecutive year. That sets up the highly anticipated third meeting this year between the Indians and Pella Dutch on Monday night at Knoxville. The winner will punch their ticket to the Class 3A State Tournament at Wells Fargo Arena, where the Indians hope to be for the third straight year.
by Jamie Brockman
Bondurant Farrar put up a fight and made the Indians work as Oskaloosa led 18-10 after one quarter and 34-23 at halftime. The Indians came out a bit flat in the second half, and the Bluejays pulled within five points at 38-33 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
Following a missed three-pointer by Oskaloosa, Bondurant Farrar had a chance to cut it to a three or two-point game but instead turned it over, stepping out of bounds under the basket. Oskaloosa then got a dunk in the lane from Foster, who then followed with a big blocked shot fueling an 8-4 run to end the quarter with Osky leading 46-37.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Osky held a 56-47 lead, and the Bluejays refused to go away; however, tough defense from Oskaloosa sophomore Charles North, who drew two charging fouls back to back, kept the momentum in Osky’s favor.
With just over a minute remaining, Foster completed a three-point play putting the Indians in front by 13. The final minute saw a lot of action as The Bluejays connected on a quick three to pull back within 10.
Following a quick foul, Noah Van Veldhuizen hit two free throws, but again the Bluejays answered with a three-pointer cutting the lead back to nine. Two free throws from Iszac Schultz and another from Foster in the final seconds sealed the deal for Oskaloosa with the 70-58 win.
Afterward, Coach Ryan Parker said, “ I was very pleased with our effort in the first half; I thought we really came out ready to play. I told the guys at halftime the first four minutes of the third quarter would be the most important part of the game, but I thought we were flat-footed, and our energy was down, and that was concerning. But then we picked it up. Everyone contributed, and our energy won us the game. When we play with energy, effort, and execution, we’re tough to beat when we don’t we get exposed.”
Regarding Monday’s matchup with Pella, Coach Parker stressed defense, “Since I came back, defense has been our biggest priority. They’ve got so many options and ways to score our defense has to be spot on. If we can do the things we do well, and avoid the things we don’t do well, we will be competitive. This is our fourth straight trip to sub-state, which many schools never experience. We’re pleased, but we’re not satisfied.”
Foster had a huge game scoring 35 points with several rebounds and five blocked shots, Noah Van Veldhuizen added 14 including four more three-pointers, Keaton Flaherty chipped in 12 points, and Iszac Schultz scored five, while North and Butler each added two.
For the seniors, Reece Sarver, Dalton Deney, Iszac Schultz, Van Veldhuizen, Foster, Butler and Mason Barnhart , this marked their final game in the Oskaloosa gym.
Pella defeated Grinnell 77-60 to advance to Monday’s Sub State Final. The Dutch defeated Oskaloosa in both regular-season meetings, winning 84-71 at Pella and 79-68 in Oskaloosa. The Dutch are 18-5 and bring their high octane offense averaging 78 points per game this season, with three big scorers. Logan Shetterly averages 19 points, Treyton Sturgeon 15 and Jon Oltman 13 points per game.
Monday’s game is scheduled for a 7 pm tip-off at Knoxville High School. If you can’t attend, you can follow our AUDIO broadcast with Jamie Brockman and Doug DeKock on the Indians Network at www.indiansnetwork.tv, MCG Channel 7, or Thunder Country 96.7 FM KIIC starting with pre-game coverage at 6:40 pm Monday.
