Tiger boys, girls fall in final seconds on court

The Red Oak Tigers fell 39-38 to a Mustang rally Friday night, after leading most of the game.
The Red Oak Tigers were down 9-8 at the end of the first quarter, but a strong showing in the second quarter had the Tigers taking a 23-13 lead into half time.
“We played with great energy in that second quarter,” Red Oak head coach Dan Pollock said. “It really helps when we are knocking down shots. We had 11 defensive rebounds and they only had one offensive rebound, so they didn’t get second chances, which really helps keep scoring down, too.”
Shenandoah began to rally in the third quarter, holding the Tigers to just three points while adding eight of their own to close the gap to  26-21 at the end of the third.
“It’s crazy how sometimes the ball just won’t go down,” Pollock said. “We had some really good looks that just didn’t go in. We took really good care of the ball with only one turnover; we had more field goal attempts in that quarter than any other with 14; Somtimes you just don’t get the ball to roll in for you. We could have let the game get away from us entirely with an offensive quarter like that, but we still played solid defense, and kept the lead at that point.”
The final frame was a tight battle with Red Oak leading by up to six and the Mustangs closing to within one point two separate times, and came down to the final 9.5 seconds. Carter Bruce fouled out for the Tigers, sending Kyle Cerven to the line, and Cerven sank both shots. As Red Oak gained possession and began to cross the court, the Tigers called a time out. Red Oak got the ball to Isaac Birt with two seconds left, but the shot fell short and Shenandoah rallied to a victory.
“Losing a rivalry game always hurts, and to lose it in the manner we did hurts even more,” Pollock said. “The good news is the season isn’t over, and improvements will be made.”
Mustang junior Cerven led all scorers with 20 points.
Red Oak was led by Birt, who scored 12 points, and had six rebounds, one steal.
Bruce had eight points, Kobe Johnson six, Cole Carlson five, David Vega four, Garrett Rolenc two, and Baylor Bergren chipped in one point.
Vega had four assists; Johnson two blocks; and Rolenc had a steal.
Johnson grabbed seven rebounds, Bruce six, Carlson five, and three each from Bergren, Vega, and Rolenc.
Creston
The boys fell to Creston the following night, 60-26.
“Playing on back-to-back nights is always tough,” Pollock said. “Creston is a tough team under any circumstance, and Kylan Smallwood is one of the best players in the conference. We had some really good looks that wouldn’t drop for us early, and it really affected our energy level.”
The Panthers led 19-6 at the end of the first period, and 42-11 at halftime.
Birt led the Tigers with seven points, and six rebounds.
Carlson and Vega added five points each; Johnson four; Garrett Couse three; and Bruce two.
Girls
The Red Oak Tigers girls hoops climbed to a 6-3 overall record after defeating Shenandoah 47-35.
The Tigers trailed 10-9 after the first frame, then rallied to outscore the Fillies 14-4 in the second quarter, taking a 23-14 lead into the break.
“The pace of play was very fast early, we just weren’t putting the ball in the hoop,” Tigers head coach Maddie Gelber said about the difference between the scoring in the first and second quarters.
The Tigers extended the lead to 20 points in the second half, and although the Fillies closed the gap, the Tigers held on for the win.
Ellie Rengstorf led the Tigers with 16 points, followed by Sophie Phillips with 10. Lexi Johnson added eight points, Chloe Johnson seven, and Allie West six.
“It is fantastic to have Ellie back,” Gelber said. “She makes us go.”
Shenandoah’s Logan Hughes led all scorers with 20 points.
Creston
Creston’s defense held the Tigers back in the first half, but a fourth-quarter Tiger rally on an 8-0 run, had the game tied at 54 with seconds remaining.
Creston’s ace Brielle Baker was fouled, scoring the bucket and missing the free throw to take the 56-54 lead with 3.2 seconds left.
A Red Oak turnover gave Creston the ball and the win.
Red Oak hoops travel to Clarinda for conference play tonight. The girls game begins at 6 p.m. with the boys game to follow.