Heads22 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Mustangs edge Oelwein for district championship By JOHN JENSEN/Sports Editor ... Advertisement ... FAYETTE - Independence opened up a huge first-half lead and then held off Oelwein's furious second-half comeback on its way to a 65-54 victory over the Huskies in the Class 3A, District 6 Final Thursday night at Upper Iowa University in Fayette. The Mustangs (6-17) will play Crestwood in the Substate 3 final Monday night at Luther College in Decorah. Crestwood escaped with a 59-53 victory over Charles City in the District 5 Final. Oelwein finishes with a 4-19 mark. Independence coach Matt Brunson said his team has been building for a possible strong district run ever since the chances of a good regular season slipped away. "The last 2 1/2 weeks, win or lose, all we were going to do was work for the districts," he said. "Our kids have believed. How many kids with this record - even Oelwein - are out here with this kind of record out here battling. Hats off to our kids, it's all about them. We are so happy for them as a staff and what they accomplished." Indee set a furious first-half pace behind the pinpoint shooting of senior guard Travis Halligan. Halligan knocked down a 3-pointer the first time he touched the ball 45 seconds into the game and proceeded to drain four more triples before the end of the first quarter, including one with nine seconds left. Oelwein kept pace for awhile, as buckets by Austin Forsyth, Nick Link and Mason Kerns kept it within striking distance. The fast pace eventually became too much for Oelwein, however, as the Mustangs took control of the game with a 21-0 run, extending their 13-12 lead to 34-12. Five different Mustangs scored during the run, which didn't stop until Forsyth knocked down a 10-foot baseline jumper for the Huskies. From there the teams exchanged buckets and Indee took a 43-22 lead into the locker room. Oelwein chipped away at the Independence lead throughout the first 13 minutes of the second half. The Huskies closed to within 12 points with 1 minute left in the third quarter on a Cory DeWald 3-pointer, only to see Halligan answer with a 3 for Indee 10 seconds later. The Mustangs led 49-36 entering the fourth. Oelwein coach Mitch Murphy said he told his team at halftime not to try to do too much too fast as it tried to come back. "We just told them to try and get back in the game first, to maybe get it down to 10 points, and then we would see what happens," he said. The Huskies did just that, making a game of it in the fourth quarter with a furious run. The Mustangs extended their lead back to 17 points, 55-38, on back-to-back Halligan 3-pointers in the first two minutes. Any momentum the Mustangs might have had was stemmed when a technical foul was whistled against the Mustang bench when a player stood to encourage his teammates. DeWald made both technical foul free throws igniting a 14-0 run. Twelve of the Huskies' 14 points came via the long ball as Mark Jamison knocked down three straight from the right wing and Kerns hit one from the corner which pulled OHS to within three, 55-52, with three minutes left. "Mark shoots well in practice, he just has struggled a little bit in the games this year, so it was nice to see him hit a couple of big ones there," Murphy said. Brunson said his team was a little guilty of playing not to lose in the second half. "If seemed like our kids got caught up just a little bit in the moment and just a little bit of doubt crept in," he said. "But you have to hand it to our kids - they kept their composure. We got rattled, but we gained it back." Indee did not hit a field goal down the stretch, relying instead on strong free-throw shooting. Steve Preuss, Cory Estling and Halligan combined to make 10-of-12 from the stripe in the final 2:33 to secure the win and Indee's second district title in the last three years. "I told our kids all year that at tournament time free throws are where it's at - you hit free throws and you win basketball games," Brunson said. IHS 23 20 6 16 - 65 OHS 12 10 14 18 - 54 Independence (65) - Matt Robinson 0 0-0 0; Jeff Hickey 4 0-1 8; David Leinbaugh 0 0-0 0; Travis Halligan 8 3-5 27; Steve Preuss 4 8-10 17; Cory Estling 1 2-3 5; Kyle Hosch 4 0-0 8. Totals 21 13-19 65. Oelwein (54) - Mason Kerns 5 1-2 13; Shawn Youngton 2 0-0 5; Nick Link 1 0-0 2; Mark Jamison 4 0-0 11; Cory DeWald 4 2-2 11; Austin Forsyth 4 1-4 10; Marc Miller 0 0-0 0; Derek Wagner 0 0-0 0; Aaron Kennon 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 4-8 54. 3-point goals: Independence 10 (Halligan 8, Preuss, Estling), Oelwein 8 (Jamison 3, Kerns 2, DeWald, Forsyth). Rebounds: Independence 28 (Halligan 10), Oelwein 26 (Kerns 7). Assists: Independence 14 (Preuss 9), Oelwein 13 (Kerns 4). Steals: Independence 9 (Hickey 3, Estling 2), Oelwein 9 (Forsyth 4). Fouled out: None. Total fouls: Independence 8, Oelwein 21. Technical foul: Independence bench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Alex where are you in the scoring column? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 6-17 vs 4-19? Dare I even ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 Alex where are you in the scoring column? Didn't play. Coach put in the seniors at the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 6-17 vs 4-19? Dare I even ask? We were the worst team in the worst district....it was geographic...Waukon, the team we upset in the first round, ended 12-10...the only other team, West Delaware.....would've been 6-17......it was a crazy game though...cutting a 20+ point lead doen to 3 is nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Didn't play. Coach put in the seniors at the end. That's too bad. It is always good to give everyone some time during the tourney. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 My school lost in sectionals, but you don't hear me bragging. We were 25-4 on the year, not some crappy 4-19 s***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 My school lost in sectionals, but you don't hear me bragging. We were 25-4 on the year, not some crappy 4-19 s***. We're playing in regionals on Saturday against Muncie Central! I can't wait! We're only 14-10 overall , but we're 1 of only 2 teams remaining from the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heads22 Posted March 12, 2004 Author Share Posted March 12, 2004 My school lost in sectionals, but you don't hear me bragging. We were 25-4 on the year, not some crappy 4-19 s***. You play bball? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 My school lost in sectionals, but you don't hear me bragging. We were 25-4 on the year, not some crappy 4-19 s***. Don't Worry... Schaumburg will get it handed to them for the 3rd time by Hoffman Estates.... That sectional was easily the best in the State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danman31 Posted March 12, 2004 Share Posted March 12, 2004 Don't Worry... Schaumburg will get it handed to them for the 3rd time by Hoffman Estates.... That sectional was easily the best in the State. Yeah we freaking choked though. 3 of our guys totally choked. Scheyer couldn't do it all, he didn't even play his best. Next year should be awesome. A lot of senior leadership. Alex- I don't play, but I go to a lot of games because we have a good team and the best sophomore in the state according to any expert you ask (Scheyer). He is rated 21st in the nation by rivals.com among his class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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