Cyclones lose nail biter to Rams at home

Tuesday night at home, the HCHS Cyclones boys basketball team was locked into a back-and-forth affair, but in the end, the Glenwood Rams got the better of it, winning 74-67.

“I’m very proud of them,” said Cyclone Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “The bucket before the half is huge. It was 38-32, and you hit about a 30-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer. That’s a huge bucket. We got it back within eight, then six, and we couldn’t quite get over the hump.”

Senior Ram Cole Staudt scored first, but the Cyclones offense responded back with three consecutive shots from Senior Ben Leinen, Junior Dallas McDowell, and Senior Jozef Reisz, making it a 7-2 lead.

The Rams offense answered back with four consecutive shots making it an 8-7 lead. However, Reisz made another shot at the basket, followed by back-to-back shots from Sophomore Kobe Klaassen, putting his team up 16-12.

“He got loose, and got going,” Osborn said of Klaassen. “He did a great job, but we’ve got to keep working. You’re never happy to lose, I’m proud of his effort.”

Klaassen managed to make another 3-point shot, but it was answered by a 3-pointer from Senior Ram Ayden Gibson, which would be three of 33 points he would score for the night.

“Ayden Gibson is a terrific player,” Osborn said. “We were trying to shut him down and he still scores 33 points. Give him a lot of credit.”

When the second quarter began with the Cyclones leading 21-17, the first two baskets came from Senior Ram Drew Schroeder, which tied the game at 21. Leinen got the Cyclones back in front with a basket, but the Rams continued to respond until Klaassen and McDowell made back-to-back 3-pointers, putting the Cyclones up 30-25.

Following McDowell’s shot, both team exchanged buckets keeping the deficit at six until Gibson made a 3-pointer from 30-feet out, hitting the shot at the buzzer, putting his team up 41-32 at halftime.

“We said we’ve got to come out the first three minutes and we didn’t,” Osborn said. “I’ve said that two games in a row, and they put it right on us and got us down, but we came back and they got up again by 14, and then we came back again. I’m pleased we didn’t roll over, but we have to get better defensively.”

The third quarter began with back-to-back shots from Gibson and Jack Johnson, which forced an immediate timeout from Osborn. Following Osborn’s timeout, the Cyclones offense made the next three shots from Klaassen, Leinen, and McDowell, forcing a timeout from Rams head coach Curt Schulte.

“We just had to buckle down defensively and get some stops,” Osborn said. “Then we said we had to be a little more patient on offense. I thought we took two quick shots, and we had to our shooters the ball more.”

Gibson continued to dominate on the offensive end for the Rams, scoring multiple baskets including a 3-pointer, giving his team a 59-45 lead at the end of three quarters. Klaassen made a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter, and followed it up with another 3-point shot, cutting the Glenwood lead down to 10 points.

With a combination of shots from Gibson and Johnson, the Rams continued to answer back every time the Cyclones scored a basket. The Cyclones were able to come up with a few more shots from Leinen, Klaassen, and McDowell to keep the game close, but the Rams hung on for their fifth win.

The Cyclones return to action Friday at home against the 3-2 Red Oak Tigers, who are coming off a 51-38 win over West Central Valley. The Tigers are led by Sophomore Reese Montgomery averaging 17.8 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, along with Senior Brayden Sifford averaging six assists per game.

“We play this hard Friday night and every night, we’re going to be in great shape,” Osborn said. “We just need to clean up some things defensively. We can’t give up 74 points. We scored 67, which was terrific, but we can’t give up 74. You score 67 that should be enough to win.”

It will also be Senior Night as Weston Reisz, Jozef Reisz, Leinen, Bryce Van Baale, Caden Bruck, and Hayden Soma will be honored before the game.

“We have a great bunch of seniors,” Osborn added. “They’re great leaders. It’s just a fun group to be around. We have a lot of the season left.”