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Tigers get pair of one-point wins, to face Winnebago in championship

It’s not likely that anyone who attended the games last week has any fingernails left. Osmond experienced two absolute nail biters in the first two rounds of the conference tournament.

Osmond vs. Bloomfield

OSMOND — Monday night, Feb. 1, the Tigers had a rematch with Bloomfield, a team they beat by 14 a couple weeks ago. The Bees played a tremendous game, shooting more than double their season average from behind the three-point line, making an astonishing nine of 14 attempts.

When you add that to their already potent inside game, it makes Bloomfield a much more formidable opponent. The Bees stepped up their defensive efforts as well, playing an aggressive man-to-man in the first half and a disciplined diamond-and-one defense in the second half, guarding only Graysen Schultze man-to-man while the other four defenders played in a zone.

Despite the effort made by Bloomfield, the Tigers still found themselves ahead by 13 points with close to three minutes remaining in the game. At that point, the Bees went into desperation mode and it worked.

Osmond had relaxed a little bit, resulting in turnovers and poor shot selection that Bloomfield took advantage of. The feeling of ease the Tigers had been experiencing a few minutes earlier had drastically changed.

Osmond had a four-point lead when Bloomfield called their final timeout. All the Tigers had to do was let Bloomfield shoot without fouling them and let the remaining seconds expire to escape with a first-round win. Osmond did just that as Cody Bruegman hit a corner three at the buzzer, his fifth of the game!

Osmond vs. LCC

WALTHILL — The semifinal round on Thursday, Feb. 4, would see the Tigers travel to Walthill to play against Laurel-Concord-Coleridge (LCC), a team Osmond beat by three points just nine days earlier. LCC seemed to control the game from the jump, playing a triangle-and-two defense, meaning Graysen Schultze and Ryan Schmit would be guarded man-to-man while the remaining three Bears played a zone. This tactic was highly effective, limiting Schmit to zero points in the first half and Graysen to 11, resulting in a 19-15 deficit at halftime.

Osmond came right out of the half and evened the game up with baskets by Spencer Hille and Graysen Schultze. At that point, the Bears put the clamps back on and the Tigers struggled to score, only scoring four more points in the last six minutes of the third quarter. When the fourth began, Osmond

When the fourth began, Osmond was trailing by eight (31-23) and Schmit, Osmond’s second leading scorer, had yet to record a point.

Led by Schultze, the Tigers began to play desperately and began to create an impressive comeback, yet LCC was still making plays and were ahead by 11 points with a little less than three minutes left.

At that point, the flip was switched for the Tigers, as they demonstrated their mental toughness and competitive spirit. Graysen scored 14 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth, including going six-for-six at the free throw line and burying two HUGE three pointers. Hille came alive in the fourth as well, scoring six of his 12 points in the final eight minutes.

With 17 seconds left, the Tigers out of timeouts and trailing by one, sophomore Jake Rath stepped to the free throw line for the Bears. Rath made his first, but his second attempt rolled off the rim as Stevin Hasler grabbed the rebound.

Schultze navigated the ball up the court and tried attacking the lane but was stopped by a wall of Bears. The senior kept the ball in his hands and again attacked the paint, this time using a spin move in hopes of taking the game-winning shot.

LCC was all over him, committing three guys to him once he picked up his dribble. They even knocked the ball out of Schultze’s hands but Graysen quickly recovered it, narrowly avoiding a jump ball.

With the final precious seconds ticking away, Ryan Schmit’s defender left him open as he converged on Schultze in the lane. Schmit barked out Graysen’s name and the senior found him near the left wing.

The junior hit the biggest shot of his career, nailing a three-pointer (his only bucket of the game) as the buzzer sounded and the Tigers completed the improbable comeback victory.

“What a finish, I’m so incredibly proud of our resiliency and Ryan Schmit, WOW! What a big time basket,” summarized Todd Schulze.

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