Osmond Tigers split games against Randolph, Hartington-Newcastle
The Osmond Tigers began their season with a game against Randolph on Friday, followed by a home game against Hartington-Newcastle. The Tigers defeated the Cardinals, but fell to the Wildcats.
Osmond 45, Randolph 33
RANDOLPH – The Osmond boys headed east on Highway 20 to take on the Cardinals of Randolph High on Friday, Dec. 3, to begin their season. It’s a season that is going to see some familiar faces from last year, while also mixing in some younger bodies.
The Cardinals started the game looking to score the ball as they hit two early threes and took a 6-4 lead. However, the Tigers quickly turned the tide on both ends of the court.
With the help of seniors Ryan Schmit and Bryan Solorzano hitting a couple threes, Osmond ended the first quarter with a lead of 12-6. The Tigers continued with the same intensity in the second quarter and outscored the Cardinals 14-2 during the course of the period and headed into the locker rooms with a 26-8 lead.
Even though the contest entered into the second half, there was still much of the same from the first half – Tigers making shots. This was evident as juniors Zach Reikofski and Caden Wingert, along with sophomore Xander Brown, all either scored or made solid defensive plays to expand the Tiger’s lead to 42-15 entering the final frame.
With a solid lead heading into the fourth, the crowd had the opportunity to see some of the younger Tigers step in, for many of whom it was their first ever varsity experience. The Cardinals made a few shots in the fourth to dig into the lead, but the Tigers finished strong and ended the night with a 45-33 victory and a 1-0 start to the season.
Score by Quarter Osmond 12 14 16 3 = 45 Randolph 6 2 7 18 = 33
Hartington-Newcastle 47, Osmond 40
OSMOND – Coming off of a 45-33 victory less than 24 hours prior, the Tigers were faced with the task of taking on another Lewis and Clark foe, Hartington-Newcastle, on Saturday, Dec. 4. There was plenty of excitement for the boys’ team as this was the first regular season home game, and they had a chance to play the team that beat them on a three-quarter court heave the previous year.
That excitement and energy was shown early on as both teams came out firing in the first. Jumping out to a 5-0 lead were the Wildcats, but Osmond quickly stole back the momentum thanks to senior Ryan Schmit hitting two long balls and junior Zach Reikofski chipping in with another from beyond the arc to give their team the 15-12 lead heading into the second quarter.
The defense of the Tigers continued to be solid to start the second as they were able to push the lead to 19-12 and had the Wildcats searching for some answers. After some aggressive cutting and finishing for Hartington-Newcastle, they only found themselves down by one at the break with a score of 19-18.
The two evenly-matched teams kept battling into the third quarter, where the score was still tied 28-28, but the Wildcats were looking for opportunities to capitalize. After a 3 from H-N to go up 31-28, they pulled off another crazy shot as they hit a half-court hurl to take a 34-28 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
With the momentum on their side, the Wildcats forced two quick turnovers to start the fourth and pushed the score to a 39-28 game. However, the Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight. Thanks to some aggressive defense sparked by rebounds and offensive putbacks by senior Stevin Hasler, Osmond found themselves cutting the game inside single digits once again.
After a couple threes from Bryan Solorzano and Reikofski, the Tigers sliced the lead to five points at 45-40. Despite the valiant comeback effort, the boys’ squad came up just a little short and the Wildcats iced the game at the free throw line, giving them the 47-40 victory. The Tigers moved to 1-1 on the season.
Score by Quarter
Osmond 15 4 9 12 = 40
Hart-New 12 6 16 13 = 47
