Cyclones lose close road battle to Rams
The HCHS Cyclones boys basketball team lost a close battle 59-56 to the Glenwood Rams Tuesday night on the road.
“I was very proud of our guys last night,” said Cyclone Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “I thought we went on the road and played pretty well. It was a back-and-forth game, but Glenwood is 10-2 for a reason. They have a great team.”
The Cyclone offense got off to a slow start, trailing 17-11 at the end of the first quarter, but rebounded in the second quarter to outscore the Rams by eight, taking a 31-29 lead into halftime.
“We scored at the buzzer to go up two,” Osborn said. “We were in great shape. We’ve got do a little bit better of a job taking care of the ball.”
Junior Cyclone Dallas McDowell led the Cyclones with 23 points, followed by Senior Jozef Reisz with 13 points, and Sophomore Kobe Klaassen with eight.
The Rams were led by Senior Drew Schroeder with 24 points, followed by Senior Ayden Gibson with 12, along with Junior Jack Johnson with eight. Osborn was proud of the Cyclone offense, but more so for the defense for holding Gibson to 12, after he scored 33 points against them Dec. 17 at home.
“I thought our guys stepped up,” he added. “Ayden Gibson had 33 last time against us. We held him to 12, but unfortunately Schroeder scored big with 24.”
In the third quarter, the Rams offense managed to outscore the Cyclones by five, with the fourth quarter being evenly matched, leading to the Rams securing the win for their 10th of the season, handing the Cyclones their fifth loss.
“Unfortunately in the fourth quarter, we missed six free throws,” Osborn said. “Cade [Nelson] missed a few free throws, and Jozef missed four, he was one for five. That hurt us. You split those in half, that’s probably the ballgame right now. We’ve got to step up and knock them down.”
The Cyclones return home Friday night to take on Hawkeye Ten rival, the 2-9 Atlantic Trojans, who have lost four consecutive game, most recently 50-33 to the Clarinda Cardinals. The Trojans are led by Junior Gavin McLaren averaging 13.8 points, Junior Shelton Mualia averaging 5.3 rebounds, and Kinnick Juhl averaging 5.3 assists per game.
“They’re struggling this year, but they always compete hard,” Osborn added. “We should come out pretty darn hungry, upset, and ready to go, because next week is going to be a brutal stretch. We’ve just got to keep plugging away.”
