The Osmond-Randolph Hawks split games this week, defeating the Wausa Vikings and falling to the Stuart Broncos.
Hawks vs. Vikings
OSMOND — On Monday, Feb. 5, the Osmond-Randolph Hawks took on the Wausa Vikings in a home game in Osmond. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 12, but was moved due to inclement weather.
O-R played in the close games the week before and continued the trend in this one, as they led 10-9 after one quarter of play and took a 20-15 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Vikes got hot for a spell in the third quarter and were able to take a 28-24 lead, but the Hawks kept clawing back. Senior Brayden Shearer completed an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 32, and then with 2:43 left in the game Hunter Buchanan poked the ball away from a Wausa guard in the backcourt, received an assist from fellow senior Owen Severson, and converted an old-fashioned three-point play of his own to give the Hawks the lead.
The Hawks stalled over a minute off the clock while leading 36-35 before Wausa decided to foul Xander Brown with :33.7 to go, where he knocked down both FT. The Vikings got two attempts from 3-point land off in the final possession, including one at the buzzer, but both were off the mark and the O-R Hawks netted their fifth victory of the season against the 8-8 Vikings.
It was a well-played grinder of a game, with both teams slowing the pace and neither turning the ball over more than 10 times.
It was a well-rounded scoring effort, as eight Hawks got into the scoring column in the winning effort. Hunter Buchanan led the way with 9 points, including 7/9 from the charity stripe. He was followed by sophomore Luke Harder’s season-high 8 points and Brown’s 7.
Shearer, Severson, Baylen Guenther, and Logan Lienemann all contributed with 3 points, and Ryan Engel finished the game with 2. Brown was the game’s leading rebounder with 7 boards.
BOX SCORE
FG FT Reb.Pts. L.Harder 1-3 0-0 0 2 Brown 2-9 0-0 2 5 Shearer 2-3 1-4 8 5 Severson 1-2 0-1 1 2 Guenther 1-6 2-2 1 4 Alderson 0-1 0-0 0 0 Buchanan 0-2 0-0 4 0 Lienemann3-8 0-0 3 8 Engel 1-5 0-0 1 2 Hawks 11-39 3-7 20 28 Hawks vs. Broncos
OSMOND — Friday, Feb. 9, the Stuart Broncos came to Osmond in a rematch from the Randolph Holiday Tournament Championship in late December, a game the Broncos won 53-31.
Although the final score in this one was very similar at 51-30, it was not indicative of how close the game truly was. O-R tied the game late in the third quarter at 28 and trailed just 30-28 entering the final frame of play, but could not take care of the ball in the fourth, turning it over 8 times in the quarter alone and being outscored 21-2 in the process.
O-R’s record fell to 5-15 while Stuart improved to 12-7 in the waning weeks of the regular season.
Lienemann was the leading scorer for the Hawks with 8 points. Brown and Shearer each had 5, while Shearer also ripped down 8 rebounds in the loss. Guenther scored 4, while Harder, Severson, and Engel each finished the game with 2 points. Engel dished out 4 assists in the losing effort.
BOX SCORE
FG FT Reb.Pts. L.Harder 4-9 0-0 2 8 Brown 2-9 3-3 7 7 Shearer 1-4 1-3 4 3 Severson 1-1 1-5 2 3 Guenther 1-2 0-0 3 3 Alderson 0-0 0-0 0 0 Buchanan 1-4 7-9 2 9 Lienemann 1-1 0-0 0 3 Engel 1-5 0-0 3 2 Hawks 12-3512-2023 38 The Osmond-Randolph Hawks' fi nal regular season game will take place in Randolph against the Hartington-Newcastle Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 16, a rematch from the conference tournament which saw the Wildcats come away with a 51-39 victory. The Hawks will look to avenge the loss and ride a high note into postseason play the following week.
