Cyclones win third consecutive game over Tigers

Junior Franz Reisz and Senior Brad Curren led the way for the Cyclones Saturday afternoon in downtown Omaha at Creighton University en route to a 70-47 victory over the North Bend Tigers.

“We looked forward to it,” said Cyclones Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “We we’re playing somebody that doesn’t know you very well. I thought they were much better in-person than they were on film.”

The first bucket of the game was scored by the Tigers, but it didn’t take long for the Cyclones to get at it, when Reisz dropped the first two buckets for his team, forcing a timeout from the Tigers.

When play resumed, Curren made a bucket, widening the Cyclones lead to four points. Tiger Kyler Hellbusch was fouled not long after, sending him to the line where he dropped 1 of 2 free throws, putting his team down by 3.

With stellar defense and key shots from Curren and Reisz, the Cyclones took a 14-10 lead into the second quarter. The quarter opened with a 3-point shot from Tiger Zac Pospisil, but Reisz dropped back-to-back buckets for the Cyclones, giving them a 6-point lead.

Curren again forced a timeout from the Tigers with a jumper. Sophomore Jozef Reisz was fouled with under 45 seconds to go in the half, where he made both free throws, giving the Cyclones a 7-point advantage heading into the locker room.

“We just had to keep playing good defense,” Curren said. “We held them to 24 points at the half, which was pretty good. We were struggling a little bit offensively, so we just had to keep going on offense, putting our shots in and that’s what we did the second half.”

The Cyclones got their wheels turning opening the third quarter with Senior Teagon Kasperbauer hitting a 3-point shot. Senior Jacob Birch attempted a layup, missed it, but Reisz tipped it in.

The Cyclones went on a 6-0 run when Kasperbauer hit another 3-pointer to widen the Cyclones lead to 47-29. The Tigers used a timeout, but it didn’t affect the Cyclones allowing them to continue their run to 12-0, closing out the third quarter leading 53-29.

The fourth quarter opened with another Cyclone bucket keeping their run alive at 14-0, but that changed soon after when the Tigers got one at the free throw line.

Reisz finished with 20 points, while Curren had 18. Osborn with pleased with the team effort.

“Everybody did a great job,” Osborn said. “We hit our free throws for the most part, so that’s good to see us getting better. When you play in an atmosphere like this, it’s like playing in a state tournament facility. It’s fun to play in that and it was a good win.”

They return home Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. looking for redemption against the Denison-Schleswig Monarchs, who beat them 75-51 Dec. 9. The Monarchs are led by Senior Carson Seuntjens with 198 points and Junior Luke Wiebers with 72 rebounds and 44 assists.

“We’re looking forward to it,” Osborn added. “Whether it’s a victory or not, we know we need to play much better. We’re playing much better. They’re playing at a high level. We know it’s going to be a battle. We shouldn’t be the same way when they stung us pretty good."

 
 

 

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