Red Oak boys season ends in KC substate loss
HARLAN — It was close, but not close enough for the Red Oak boys basketball team.
The Tigers lost in the substate game Saturday night on the road against Kuemper Catholic 59-46.
The difference in the game was the fourth quarter as Kuemper Catholic started to pull away. Red Oak entered the quarter trailing by seven points.
“The offensive rebounds, that was the difference in the game,” Red Oak boys basketball coach Bryan White said. “I thought defensively we played well enough up until that first shot and then when you’re giving up second and third shots, it’s tough.”
The Tigers trailed early in the first quarter, but were able to recover and tie the game at the end of the quarter.
During the second quarter, Red Oak took the lead briefly, but Kuemper Catholic took it back. The Knights entered halftime with a 23-19 lead.
“It was a fun, good atmosphere for high school basketball and I felt like our guys were ready to play,” White said. “Give Kuemper a whole lot of credit there; they’re a good ball club with a lot of size and a lot of strength. They can do some damage [In Des Moines].”
Kuemper Catholic started to pull ahead in the third quarter, but the Tigers were able to stay within range.
Kuemper Catholic avenged a loss earlier in the season to Red Oak. The Tigers were able to score an upset win against the Knights 60-53 Jan. 8 in Red Oak.
“Our guys hate to lose and that’s something you can’t just coach,” White said. “When you got that, you got that. We have a lot of boys on the team that have that mentality. It’s a good thing to have and we’ll see if we can’t build off of that for next year.”
This is the first substate game for Red Oak sinceMarch 4, 2006 when they lost to Nodaway Valley 68-46.
Kuemper Catholic advances to the state tournament, where they will play Nodaway Valley in the quarterfinals. The Knights are the seventh seed in the tournament.
Red Oak finishes the season with a 15-9 record, tripling their win total from last season.
The Tigers will enter the offseason losing five seniors. Tanner Johnson, Pete Walker, Jose Perez, Rem Tranbarger and Gage Palmer all made contributions to the basketball program.
White said losing the seniors is tough and is always a tough part of the job.
“It was a great senior leadership team,” White said. “Those are five great kids that know how to lead and lead by example. It made it fun to come to practice every night.”
Johnson, Walker and Perez were key starters this season for the Tigers.
“It was a spectacular season. I couldn’t be more proud of these young men,” White said. “The way they made me and my family feel like we’ve been a part of this community for years is top notch.”
For White, he completes his first season on the sidelines for Red Oak basketball.
White, who came to Red Oak from Oskaloosa, said he’s enjoyed everything this season.
“To come into an unknown situation with a team that hasn’t won in a while would be a challenge and I knew that our boys would be up for that challenge after the first 10 minutes that I met with them [last] summer,” White said. “They had the right attitude; they were going to be a coachable group, just a lot of fun to coach all season long.”
Red Oak will have key returners for next season, led by Jordan Nelson and Ryan Leininger. The other potential returners for next season are Gavin French, Nick Carlson, Eddie Perez, Brendon Birt, Andrew Palmquist, Dalon King and Nick Carlson.
“I think this gave them the hunger of knowing that there are bigger things in sight for them,” White said. “Now it’s Jordan and Ryan’s time to step up and be those senior leaders they can be and will be and I know they’re going to get their teammates to play a lot of basketball too.”
Red Oak 58,
St. Albert 56
Red Oak reached substate by defeating the St. Albert Falcons at Abraham Lincoln High School last Tuesday in the district final.
“It was a battle from the opening tip,” White said after the game. “I think every fan had to feel like they had their money’s worth tonight.”
The Tigers held off St. Albert in the fourth quarter and were able to get the win in the final seconds.
“Those are close, but as a basketball player, those are games you live for, moments like that,” Nelson said after the game.
Nelson was able to make free throws down the stretch for Red Oak to keep them ahead of St. Albert.
“You always want to step up with confidence,” Nelson said. “You just want to put them down, help the team.”
Red Oak jumped out to an early lead and at one point in the second quarter, they led 24-13.
The Falcons weren’t about to go into halftime with a deficit though as they went on an 11-0 run to tie the game 24-24 at halftime.
“Neither team wanted to end their season, that’s what high school athletics is all about,” White said. “[It’s] just leaving it on the floor and guys stepping up and hitting big shots.”
Both teams stayed close in the third quarter, but Red Oak led by four points by its end.
Three Red Oak players recorded double-digit points for the Tigers.
Johnson and Walker each scored 13 points in the St. Albert win. Johnson had 10 rebounds, giving him a double-double.
Walker was a rebound shy of a double-double and also had four assists.
Leininger finished with 11 points, while Nelson and Perez each scored eight. Birt scored five points off the bench for Red Oak.