The Oskaloosa Basketball teams were in action but had a rough night against hot Indianola squads Monday night. The girls lost 78-28 against the #10 Class 5A team in the state while the boys blew a 13 point second half lead and fell 61-52.
The boys had a solid start with plenty of energy and strong defense in the first two quarters. Cole Henry and Xavier Foster had it going early, leading the Indians to a 29-20 halftime advantage.
Osky would score two quick buckets in the third to go up 33-20 with around 7:15 left in the 3rd quarter when Indianola Head Coach Brett Watson called a timeout. From then on, it was different game.
Indianola would close the third on a 21-6 run and got some excellent play on both ends of the floor from junior guard Quinn Vesey. Indianola would be challenged by Osky throughout the fourth, but Evan Gauger would take the game over for the home team and hit several free throws late to ice the game. The final score ended up 61-52 with Indianola getting the win.
Indianola has home wins over Norwalk and Osky this season, the only team to beat either team in the Little Hawkeye Conference. With the loss, Oskaloosa settles for a share of the Little Hawkeye Conference regular season title with Norwalk, as they both sit at 12-2 in conference play.
Osky was led by Cole Henry, who had an outstanding game with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists, all team highs. Spencer Tucker was also in double figures with 12 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Xavier Foster was quiet after a strong first quarter, finishing with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Jarad Kruse never got going for the Indians, scoring just 3 points with 5 boards.
Gauger led the way for Indianola with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 steals and a block in a fantastic effort. Vesey chipped in 16 big points as well. Indianola is now 13-7 on the season and finish 8-6 in the LHC.
The Osky Boys fall to 17-3 on the year and finish the regular season at home against Chariton Tuesday night. You can view that game live on radiokmzn.com or MCG Channel 7. There will be no audio of the broadcast. The beginning of the game will be shortly after 7:30 PM.
The Osky girls’ wrapped up the regular season with a very tough matchup against Indianola, who are ranked #10 in Class 5A. It was a runaway from the start, with Indianola winning 78-28. There were some good moments from Oskaloosa, however, as Mary Nelson hit a couple threes to lead the way and finished with 10 points.
Osky finishes the regular season 0-21 and 0-14 in the Little Hawkeye. Indianola finishes their year 18-3 overall and an unblemished 14-0 in the LHC.
Oskaloosa will have their first round regional game Wednesday night on the road at Knoxville. You can hear that game live on 99.5 FM/740 AM KMZN, radiokmzn.com, and the KMZN mobile app with the pregame show starting around 6:40 PM.
