Cobras outduel Oskaloosa to pick up two wins before the break
Going into the break with a win is big for any team, but to top that off the Jackson Heights boys basketball team closed out its final game of the first stretch of the season with a stellar fourth quarter that helped it secure a 68-41 victory over Oskaloosa at home last Friday.
“They were playing really hard, Oskaloosa was, and we were having a hard time pulling away from them,” JH coach Chris Brown said. “We had a fairly comfortable lead at halftime, but certainly we weren’t pulling away from them and then it was the fourth quarter when we really just turned on the jets defensively. They had a hard time scoring and we were able to extend it and win pretty easily.”
Both teams battled foul trouble early in the game and had to go deep to their benches and Brown credited the Cobras’ bench players for stepping up big when needed.
“Seth Holliday came in in the first half and had 11 points, hit three threes and we had to have them. We were in foul trouble and we had to have some production from the bench and we finally had that,” Brown said.
In addition to Holliday’s big night, Zane Richter and Wyatt Olberding came through again and combined for 40 of the team’s 68 points, though their impact doesn’t stop there.
“They’re both shooting well, but they’re also both doing other things; rebounding, passing and really leading our team,” Brown said.
On top of battling foul trouble early, Brown said his team quickly found out how tough a task they had in trying to shut down Oskaloosa’s guards, who he said might be one of the best tandems in the Northeast Kansas League.
Luis Rodriguez poured in 20 points for the Bears, but no other Oskaloosa player scored more than six points on Friday night.
In that pivotal fourth quarter, Brown said his team stopped fouling and played lock down defense by controlling the boards, limiting second chance points and contesting all of Oskaloosa’s shots on the way to a 27-point victory.
Heading into the break with a win gives the Cobras (3-1) a good feeling and the team will now have some time off to relax before returning to practice on Dec. 29 and getting ready for the first game of 2015 at Valley Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Dec. 19, 2014
Oskie.: 9-20-11-1—41
JHHS: 15-23-15-15—68
Individual statistics:
JHHS: Richter 8 (3) 6-9 25, Olberding 4 (3) 4-6 15, S. Holliday 4 (3) 0-0 11, Jacobsen 2 2-2 6, Strube 2 0-0 4, Slocum 0 2-5 2, Sauvage 1 0-0 2, Dohl 1 0-2 2. Roles 0 0-2 0. Totals- 22 (9) 14-26 68.
Oskie.: Rodriguez 6 8-10 20, Van Houtan 1 (1) 3-4 6, Hopkins 3 0-0 6, Sharp 2 1-2 5, Cross 1 0-0 2, Pfau 1 0-2 2, Willits 0 0-1 0, Koch 0 0-1 0, Whalen 0 0-1 0. Totals- 14 (1) 12-21 41.
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There wasn’t as much uncertainty in the girls game, as Jackson Heights jumped out to a big lead early on the way to a 55-19 victory over Oskaloosa.
After opening up a 13-2 lead in the first quarter, the Cobras let the Bears hang around in the second quarter, but the second half belonged to Jackson Heights. The Cobras allowed their opponents to score a total of five points in the second half.
In addition to playing strong all-around defense, Jackson Heights had a very balanced offensive attack on Friday, with six players scoring at least six points in the game. Katelin Strube led the team with 11 points, while Jessica Keehn (10 points) also finished in double digits.
Following the Christmas break, the Cobras (2-2) will return to action on the road against Valley Falls on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
Dec. 19, 2014
Oskie.: 2-12-4-1—19
JHHS: 13-13-20-9—55
Individual statistics:
JHHS: Strube 2 7-12 11, Keehn 3 (2) 2-2 10, Abel 3 (1) 0-0 7, Allen 3 0-0 6, Thomas 3 0-1 6, Williams 3 0-0 6, Wells 2 0-0 4, Gibson 1 0-0 2, Rieschick 1 0-0 2, Wareham 0 1-2 1, Cattrell 0 0-3 0. Totals- 21 (3) 10-20 55.
Oskie.: Bassett 1 3-6 5, Miller 1 2-7 4, Brooks 1 1-2 3, Hickman 1 1-2 3, Ragan 1 0-1 2, Courter 1 0-2 2, Wright 0 0-1 0. Totals- 6 7-21 19.
