South O’Brien withstood a late rally by Emmetsburg to defeat the E-Hawks 31-30 January 12 at Emmetsburg. Gavin Swanson put up a runner in the lane at the buzzer that would have given the home team the win but the shot didn’t fall.
The Wolverines led the game 19-16 after three quarters. They had built the lead to seven points at 31-24 with a minute remaining. The E-Hawks then hit a basket, a free throw and a three-pointer to draw within one. Three times South O’Brien missed the front end of a one-and-one situation at the free throw line to open the door for the host team from the Twin Lakes Conference.
Each team made about a quarter of its shots for the game. The Wolverines were 13-of-51 and Emmetsburg 11-of-45. From three point range it was 3-of-18 and 2-of-19 respectively. South O’Brien went 2-for-5 from the foul line while the E-Hawks sank half of their 12 free throws.
The Wolverines got 11 points from David Bottjen, eight from Ben Woodall, four from both Hudson Oolman and Boston Riedemann and two each from Dain Moermond and Willie Conley. Riedemann notched three assists while Oolman and Woodall each had two.
Each team collected 33 rebounds. Leading South O’Brien in that category was Oolman with 12. Bottjen corralled seven caroms and Conley six. Moermond blocked two shots and Riedemann came away with four steals. Emmetsburg committed 13 turnovers and the Wolverines nine.
S. O’Brien
5 12 2 12 – 31
Emmetsburg
6 3 7 14 – 30