Tigers push to 16-0 as conference tourney begins

Osmond played the Laurel- Concord-Coleridge (LCC) Bears on Monday of last week at home before traveling to Niobrara on Thursday to take on the Cougars.

Osmond 55, LCC 46

OSMOND — It finally happened — the Osmond Tigers played a basketball game with the Laurel- Concord-Coleridge (LCC) Bears on Monday, Jan. 27. The game had been circled on the calendar of many Tiger fans, parents and athletes.

Both teams returned many key players from last year’s teams that faced off once in the regular season and again in the conference tournament championship. The Bears bested the Tigers in the first meeting, but it was Osmond that was claimed the tournament championship.

The No. 3-ranked Bears came into the contest at 12-3, with all three losses coming against Class C1 competition. LCC would be the toughest test the Tigers had faced so far in the season. The game got off to the right start for Osmond, attacking the full court press put on by LCC and getting layups on the other end.

The Tiger defense controlled the Bear’s top two scorers by only allowing Noah Schutte to score two and Ty Erwin to just one point in the first quarter. Keaton Timmerman and Graysen Schultze got things going offensively for Osmond, combining for 13 first-quarter points. The two were the only ones to score for the Tigers in the first quarter until Ryan Schmit banked in a three-pointer just before the buzzer sounded.

In the second quarter, Osmond would find themselves in foul trouble. Maertins, Chishiba and Schultze all had a decrease in playing time in hopes of managing their fouls for the remainder of the game.

Schutte took advantage of the new match-ups on defense and exploded with 13 points in the quarters. The now all-time leading scorer of LCC managed to outscore the Tigers on his own in the second period, as the Osmond offense slowed down and just scored 11 in the quarter. Osmond went into halftime clinging to a one-point and feeling a bit of a momentum shift leaning toward the Bears.

LCC, claiming the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament, continued to grab momentum, taking the lead and increasing it to five in the quarter, when they led 35-30. Osmond, the overall No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, responded in championship fashion, going on a run of their own to finish the quarter ahead by three points after a smooth layup by Graysen Schultze with a couple seconds left on the clock.

The Tigers were ready for winning time in the fourth quarter. Osmond hit all three free throw attempts and played disciplined defense, making the Bears work hard for all 11 points.

Maertins sat out the majority of the third and fourth quarters with four fouls, but the senior left his mark on the game in the fourth quarter. Justus scored six points in the quarter and forced Schutte into some difficult shots down the stretch.

Ryan Schmit hadn’t tallied a basket since his first-quarter buzzer-beater, but the sophomore came alive again in the fourth. Schmit scored seven in the final period, including an old-fashioned three-point play when he got fouled but still converted his layup attempt. The “and 1” gave the Tigers some confidence and more momentum as they finished off LCC with a 55-46 victory at home.

Timmerman was absolutely HUGE for the Tigers, scoring in every quarter and finishing with a monster 20 and 14 double-double. Graysen scored 15, adding six rebounds and three assists.

Score by Quarter

Osmond 16 11 11 17 = 55

LCC 8 18 9 11 = 46

BOX SCORE

FG FT Reb. Pts.

Chishiba 1-9 0-0 3 2

Schmit 4-10 1-1 4 10

Timmerman 9-20 2-2 14 20

Schultze 6-12 0-0 6 15

Huwaldt 0-1 0-0 3 0

Maertins 3-6 2-2 1 8

Osmond 23-58 5-5 31 55

Osmond 69, Nio-Verd 31

NIOBRARA — Osmond traveled to Niobrara on Thursday, Jan. 30, to take on the Niobrara-Verdigre Cougars, a team the Tigers defeated early in the season 70-25 in the Wausa Post-holiday Tournament. Despite a couple made 3s from the Cougars in the first quarter, the Tigers once again overwhelmed N-V with their defense and unselfish offensive game play.

The Tigers would score double-digits in every quarter while the Cougars didn’t reach double-digits once. Graysen Schultze had himself a ballgame, filling up the stat sheet with 13 points, seven steals, five assists and four rebounds.

Keaton Timmerman added 18 point and five boards, Ryan Schmit gave Osmond 12 points and three assists, and Justus Maertins contributed 11 points and three assists. Aaron Chishiba scored four points and helped the Tigers with five rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

Josh Gansebom, Keaton Wattier, Zach Alerson and Zach Huwaldt combined for 11 points off the bench for Osmond as the Tigers improved to 16-0 with a 69-31 victory over Niobrara-Verdigre.

Osmond now has its sights set on claiming the conference tournament championship. They’ll need to take it one game at a time.

The No. 2 seed Tigers were set to take on the No. 15 seed Pirates from Emerson-Hubbard on Monday night in Osmond.

Score by Quarter

Osmond 17 19 21 12 = 69

Nio-Ver 8 6 8 9 = 31

BOX SCORE

FG FT Reb. Pts.

Chishiba 2-8 0-0 5 4

Schmit 3-8 4-4 1 12

Wattier 1-1 1-1 0 3

Timmerman 8-10 0-0 5 18

Schultze 6-13 0-0 4 13