Osmond Tigers take care of busy week, win all three
This week is a challenging one every season, requiring the Tigers to play three games in five days. In addition, this season in the schedule rotation includes a 90-minute road trip to Spencer and a 50-minute drive to Wynot. Add to that having the “late” practice time slot this week ends up being a LONG five-to-six days for the Osmond boys. However, the boys were up to the task.
Tuesday night, Dec. 8, in Spencer saw an abysmal first half to say the least, with the game knotted at 11 points. The Tigers came to life in the second half as they outscored the Boyd County Spartans 33 to 13, to claim Osmond’s first road win of the season.
The Friday night, Dec. 11, trip to Wynot was the type of battle the Tigers needed early in the season, pulling away in the final quarter to claim their eighth straight victory over the Blue Devils.
Finally, a home contest Saturday afternoon, Dec. 12, witnessed Osmond take control early and cruise to a 36-point plundering of the Pirates.
Osmond 44, Boyd County 24
SPENCER — Tuesday night’s contest was much closer than anticipated, in large part because of the Tigers’ poor shooting and shot selection in the first half tallying just four makes out of 23 attempts from the floor.
“It seemed we were just playing defense the whole first half and to make things worse our defense was playing lifeless, nowhere near the attacking mentality I’m accustomed to seeing,” commented Coach Todd Schulze.
After halftime, the Tigers played with much more movement and patience offensively, once again attempting 23 shots from the floor, but this time they converted those into 15 made buckets. Senior Graysen Schultze led the way in scoring with 19, while sophomore Zach Reikofski and freshmen Spencer Hille contributed 6 points apiece off the bench.
Osmond 57, Wynot 51
WYNOT — Heading north to play in the Devil’s Den on Friday required the Tigers to lock in and compete for the full 32 minutes to escape with their second victory away from home. It was a tight contest from start to finish.
Wynot shot the ball exceptionally well from behind the arc, making seven three-point attempts in the contest, including one that banked in “apparently” before the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter. The Tigers responded well to Wynot’s relentless full court man-to-man pressure, in large part to the efforts of Graysen Schultze who remained cool and calm bringing the ball up the court, orchestrating the Osmond offense.
The game stayed close heading into the fourth quarter, with the Tigers trailing by two. It was good decision-making and being strong with the ball that led Osmond to shoot 19 free throws in the final eight minutes, converting an efficient 14 of those attempts. Free throw shooting and stingy defense allowed the Tigers to outscore the Blue Devils by eight in the fourth to come away with a hard-fought victory.
Schultze led the group all game, finishing with an impressive stat line of 22 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, and zero turnovers while dealing with the Devils. The junior class was well-represented as Ryan Schmit scored 13 points; Bryan Solorzano, 8, and Stevin Hasler, 6. Zach Huwaldt battled foul trouble throughout the game but still managed to contribute 6 points and 8 rebounds on the night.
“I am so proud of how our guys competed,” commented Coach Schulze. “We held Wynot to ZERO offensive rebounds which is an area of the game they take a lot of pride in. Additionally, we stepped up and made crucial free throws down the stretch that allowed us to eat up some clock late in the game.”
Score by Quarter
Osmond 12 13 14 18 = 57
Wynot 13 13 15 10 = 51
BOX SCORE
Osmond 63, Plainview 27
OSMOND — Saturday’s home game against the Pirates was an efficient offensive outing. Osmond assisted on 14 of 26 made field goals while shooting 48% from the floor. Ryan Schmit led the Tigers in scoring with 21 points. Three other Tigers scored in double-figures, including 16 from Schultze, 11 from Hasler, and 10 from Huwaldt.
“I’m pleased with how our bench contributed this week,” said Coach Schulze. “It might not have always been in the scoring column, but guys like Caden Wingert and Zach Reikofski stepped up and gave us valuable contributions on defense and rebounding opportunities.”
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