Cyclones return to win column over Trojans
After three tough losses, the HCHS Cyclones boys basketball team returned to the win column Friday night against their Hawkeye Ten rival, the Atlantic Trojans, winning 71-52.
“It feels very nice,” said Cyclone Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “You had two teams very hungry for a win. They [Atlantic] lost a couple of very close games, and our last two came down to the last possession.”
The first quarter opened with a layup from Junior Cyclone Gabe Arkfeld, but following Arkfeld’s shot, the rest of the quarter was a back-and-forth affair with the Cyclones leading by just four at the end of the quarter, with two 3-pointers from Junior Dallas McDowell giving the Cyclones a 20-16 lead.
Sophomore Cyclone Kobe Klaassen got going in the second quarter for the Cyclones making a 3-pointer, followed later by a mid-range jumper with multiple Trojan defenders around him. Klaassen later sunk another bucket putting his team up 32-21.
Just before halftime, Senior Trojan Kinnick Juhl went for a 3-point shot as the buzzer expired from about 25 feet out and made it, sending the Trojan fanbase into an eruption of applause, but the Cyclones still led by 12.
“When they hit that three right before the half, that sort of kept them alive,” Osborn said. “We were up 20-10 and then they [Atlantic] went on an 8-0 run. We had a foul to give and I verbally hollered out to foul. We could have subbed. I should have subbed somebody in. We wanted to foul right when they were dribbling up the floor, make them take it out again, so they didn’t have that momentum going up the court.”
The Cyclones started the third quarter with a 8-2 run with a layup from McDowell, a shot at the basket from Jozef Reisz, and Klaassen with a mid-range floater, which was later capped off by another 3-pointer from McDowell.
“I was having a good shot selection because when those shots aren’t there, I have teammates to dish it off too, and it’s fun to play with them,” McDowell said.
The Cyclones continued to dominate on the offensive end of the floor getting shots up and down the lineup from Klaassen, Colton Schneider, Reisz, and McDowell making free throws at the end of the quarter giving his team a 60-36 lead.
“I thought they [Klaassen & McDowell] didn’t settle,” Osborn said. “We didn’t take bad shots. We really tried to get the ball inside not only to Jozef, but to our guards and I thought they attacked the rim well.”
McDowell opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer, followed by a layup from Senior Weston Reisz, forcing a timeout from Atlantic. When play resumed, Junior Trojan Gavin McLaren scored seven points including a 3-pointer to chip away at the Cyclones lead, but the Cyclones hung on for their fifth win of the season.
They return to action Monday on the road against the #2 ranked 13-1 Kuemper Catholic Knights. The Knights are led by Sophomore Dylan Schon averaging 13 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, along with Senior Carson Kanne averaging 6.9 assists per game.
“We’ve just got to hustle on that game,” McDowell said. “They’re a really good team. We need to take care of the ball and trust each other, because taking care of the ball is going to be huge that game.”
