Cyclones drop Regional Final to Bluejays
The HCHS boys basketball team ran into the undefeated Bondurant-Farrar Bluejays Monday night in the Regional Final match at Waukee High School and gave them a run for their money, but the Bluejays won, 74-53.
“I told them I was very proud of them,” said Cyclones Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “We had a great year. They played hard and did everything we could’ve asked.”
The Bluejays wasted no time getting on the board when Senior Everett White opened the scoring on free throws.
The Bluejays kept their foot on the gas pedal taking a commanding 15-4 lead to the two-and-a-half minute mark when Osborn called a timeout. The Cyclones then clawed back to cut the Bluejays lead to 19-11. Seniors Jacob Birch and Teagon Kasperbauer were leading the Cyclones with 4 points each at that point.
The second quarter opened with the Cyclones going on a 7-0 run, including a 3-point shot from Senior Jace Gubbels, getting back within 1 point when Bluejays head coach Travis Evans called a timeout. When play resumed, the Bluejays turned the tables on the Cyclones taking a 38-26 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“Just keep pushing the ball, box out rebounds and have solid half court defense,” Birch said.
White scored the first bucket to open the second half, putting the Jays up by 14. Junior Bluejay Reed Pfaltzgraff hit a shot from 3-point range, finishing a 7-0 run. Osborn called a timeout.
Cyclone Junior Franz Reisz made his first bucket of the half, putting a temporary stop to the Bluejays dominance. Sophomore Jozef Reisz followed with a bucket on the next possession, putting the Cyclones back within 15.
With the third quarter coming to an end, the Cyclones were hanging around when [Franz] Reisz was fouled, making 1 of 2 free throws. The Cyclones were still down by 17.
The Bluejays opened the fourth quarter on a 4-0 run, and Osborn called a timeout with his team trailing by 23 points.
Birch got the Cyclones their first bucket of the quarter, still trailing by a ton with the clock continuing to wind down. Gubbels and Birch both had 3-pointers down the stretch, along with a bucket from White, but the Bluejays proved to be too much.
The Cyclones finished their season with a 17-6 record, missing one of their best players, Senior Brad Curren for the first six games of the season due to a pinky injury, and the last three games with a fracture in his right foot.
“Brad’s passion is basketball and so it really hurt not having him,” Osborn said. “Depth-wise it just hurt us. Overall, I feel bad for Brad not being able to play in the tournament, and it just shows you can’t take things for granted, and when you get the opportunity to play and go, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
Curren, along with Birch, Gubbels and Kasperbauer won’t return due to graduation. Curren highlighted one of his favorite memories during his time playing Cyclone basketball.
“Freshman year going to state was a lot of fun,” he said. “Didn’t make it past the first round, but that was a lot of fun. Anytime we beat a Hawkeye Ten team that was fun, always a big rivalry.”
While the seniors won’t return, Osborn is excited for the future of Cyclone basketball and looks forward to working with the returning underclassmen and new faces that come into the program.
“We’re losing a good senior class, but we have a good nucleus coming back in the Reisz brothers and Will Arkfeld,” Osborn said. “We’ll have a great summer and the offseason. It’s tough to replace the senior class. That’s what happens every year and the next group will come up, and that’s what’s great about the tradition we have.”
Even with a quicker exit than the team wanted, Osborn was quick to point out some positives during their 17-win season.
“I think when we really got things turned around, we beat Kuemper on our home floor and then got that Lewis Central win on our home floor, so you could see things were going and we started believing,” Osborn added. “It was a very fun year and a very challenging year with injuries and illness.”