The best laid plans…

Needing The Ball Late In The District Final Contest, Boston Riedemann, Left, And Hudson Oolman Try To Get It From The Hawks’ Carter Schorg.

Hudson Oolman Heads Up Court After Making One Of His Three Steals Against Remsen St. Mary’s In The District Final.

Jake Wallin Elevates For A Shot. He Was The Leading Scorer For The Wolverines In The District Final Loss To Remsen St. Mary’s.

Sawyer Honkomp Is Fouled On His Way To The Basket By The Hawks’ Cael Ortmann In The District Final.

South O’Brien carried out its plan to a T, but victory in the Class 1A District 2 final ultimately eluded the Wolverines. In a game which neither team had led by more than four points, Remsen St. Mary’s scored the final six to come away with a 29-23 win February 22 at Unity Christian gym in Orange City. South O’Brien ends the season with a record of 15-9 while the Hawks took a 23-0 mark into the substate final.
Wolverine head coach Kiley Yates revealed the game plan for the match-up. “We wanted to defend (Hawk players Carter Schorg and Jaxon Bunkers) closely and then challenge the others to take shots that they don’t normally take,” explained Yates. “I thought it worked great. We were able to get them to miss and we rebounded well and only gave up 29 points. On offense, we wanted to be very patient and look for a great shot(s) which was hard to find against their excellent defense. I thought we took care of the ball very well and took great shots.”
South O’Brien’s offensive plan of attack limited the number of possessions in the game. Final stats showed the Wolverines making seven of 26 field goal tries (27 percent) and St. Mary’s going 11-for-33 (33 percent) from the floor. That was well below the Hawks’ season average of 55 percent shooting. Jake Wallin’s three-pointer was the only connection among South O’Brien’s seven trey attempts. RSM, a 43 percent shooting team from beyond the arc on the season, was just 2-of-10 in this game.
The Wolverines held a 5-1 lead well into the first quarter, which ended with the score 5-4. Hudson Oolman’s steal and basket gave South O’Brien an 11-7 advantage but St. Mary’s rallied to go on top 13-11. A basket by Oolman in the closing seconds sent the teams to their locker rooms tied 13-all.
The scoreboard read in the Hawks’ favor for much of the third quarter. They went up 21-17 in the final minute-and-a-half but South O’Brien again had the last word. Sawyer Honkomp’s bucket at the 1:13 mark drew the Wolverines within two and that’s how the third ended.
Wallin notched a hoop in the early seconds of the final period and the game was knotted. With his team down by two, Boston Riedemann delivered on a pair of free throws to make the score 23-all. St. Mary’s scored the go-ahead bucket at the four-minute mark and then got the ball back. The Hawks held the ball out and South O’Brien came out on defense but did not allow an easy basket.
With just under a minute left, Oolman came away with a steal but was fouled on the layup attempt. He was unable to convert either free throw and St. Mary’s captured the rebound. The Hawks sank two foul shots with 39 seconds remaining to lead 27-23. Sixteen seconds later, St. Mary’s added the first of a one-and-one but fouled after the second free throw was missed. With a one-and-one of their own, the Wolverines came up empty. The Hawks added one more charity tosses and were on their way to the substate game.
Each team shot just over 60 percent at the free throw line. South O’Brien was 8-of-13 and St. Mary’s 5-of-8. The Wolverines outrebounded their opponents 20-13 but committed 10 turnovers compared to half that many for the Hawks.
Wallin finished with eight points, 10 rebounds and an assist. Oolman contributed six points, three rebounds, three steals and two assists. Jacob Van Lith scored four points. Honkomp added three points, four rebounds and a steal. Riedemann supplied two points and a steal. Pete Bottjen grabbed three rebounds and David Bottjen recorded a pair of assists.
The Wolverines had no reason to hang their heads following the loss. “I thought our kids played really hard and executed the plan to near perfection,” said Yates. “RSM made some good plays late in the game to win it. I am proud of our team!”
This was the final game for senior Pete Bottjen. Said his coach, “Pete was a very good senior leader and we will miss him next season.”
S. O’Brien
5 8 6 4 – 23
RSM
4 9 8 8 – 29