After win in Griswold, Red Oak loses home opener 55-49

RED OAK—The Red Oak Tigers boys’ basketball team opened up the home portion of the 2010-2011 winter season with a 55-49 loss against Denison-Schleswig, Friday night.

“It’s one of those games where two or three things here or there and you’re maybe looking at a different outcome,” Tigers Head Coach Brad Schlieman said. “But that’s on us to clean stuff up and make sure those two or three things go our way.”
The Monarchs jumped out to an early 12-4 lead in the first quarter, but Red Oak climbed back into the game. Dakota White cut the lead in half with a three-pointer.
The Tigers defense kept Denison in check, not giving up a point the rest of the quarter. A three-pointer by Mason Sheldon put Red Oak in the lead. They held on to the lead the rest of the quarter, 16-12.
Red Oak held on to the lead for much of the second quarter, but Denison took it back and went on their scoring run and led at half, 31-24.
The Tigers took back the lead at 34-33 in the third quarter, but it didn’t last for long as Denison took it back and held on for the rest of the quarter. Red Oak stayed close though, as they were down 40-36 at the end of the third.
Free throws were key down the stretch for the Monarchs. Red Oak’s fouls put Denison at the line throughout the fourth quarter. Denison went to the charity stripe 37 times and made 24 of those free throws.
“We knew they were a dribble-drive team, they were going to spread the floor and they were going to attack the rim,” Schlieman said. “The last seven, eight minutes, we had a tough time keeping them out of the paint.”
Red Oak stayed close, not letting Denison take a commanding lead, but it wasn’t enough at the end.
Tanner Johnson finished the game for the Tigers as their leading scorer. Johnson finished the night with 13 points.
“[Tanner]’s an active kid, he plays with great effort, a great motor,” Schlieman. “When you play with the kind of motor he does, good things are going to happen for you.
White and Sheldon each scored seven points. Sheldon led the Tigers with seven rebounds.
Red Oak opened the regular season with a 58-33 road win against Griswold, last Tuesday.
Griswold jumped out to a 13-9 lead, but Red Oak closed the gap to one point and finished the quarter down, 13-12.
Red Oak’s defense stepped up, holding Griswold scoreless for nearly eight minutes on their way to a 28-14 lead at halftime.
Four Tigers had double figure points in the win. Matt Goracke led the way with 12  and Johnson scored 11 points.
Gustavo Rodrigues and Colby Wise each scored 10 points.
After the split week, Red Oak is 1-1 for the season and 0-1 in conference.
This week is a week of conference road trips for the Tigers. After playing Monday at Shenandoah, Red Oak will be on the road again Tuesday night to face Atlantic. They’ll then be in Clarinda Friday.