Wolverine High Scorer Boston Riedemann Shoots Over Landon Waldschmitt Of Remsen St. Mary’s In The District Final.

Dain Moermond (35) And Sawyer Honkomp Try To Stop The Drive Of Cael Ortmann In The Tourney Loss To Remsen St. Mary’s.

Derek Paulsen Made Two Steals In The District Final Match Up With Remsen St. Mary’s.

Willie Conley Rises Above Remsen St. Mary’s Defenders Ryan Willman (30) And Jaxson Bunkers.

The first quarter of South O’Brien’s tournament game with Remsen St. Mary’s could not have offered a more stark contrast. The Wolverines couldn’t buy a basket while it seemed as if St. Mary’s couldn’t miss. The Hawks soared out to a 13-0 lead and stretched the advantage to 26-2 after one quarter. The Wolverines outscored St. Mary’s by nine points over the remainder of the Class 1A District 1 final but the early deficit proved costly as the Hawks won 68-51 February 21 at Sioux Center.
South O’Brien turned the tables on the Hawks in the second quarter, going on a 17-4 run over the first five minutes. The Wolverines cut the deficit to nine at one point and left the floor at halftime trailing 35-24.
Wolverine head coach Kiley Yates was asked to help explain the turnaround. “The ball went in the basket,” responded the coach. “We scored 22 points in the quarter after going 1-for-10 from the floor in the first quarter. Also, we settled down on defense and got them to miss, holding them to nine points after they scored 26 in the first quarter.”
Each team was able find some offense in the third quarter. The Hawks outscored South O’Brien 19-14 in the period to lead 54-38. In the final quarter the Wolverines got within 14 points but could draw no closer.
South O’Brien finished the season with a record of 16-7. The Wolverines were 6-4 in the War Eagle Conference, tied for fourth. “I was very pleased with the progress of this group,” stated Yates. “We improved offensively a great deal from June until the end of the season. The boys worked hard each day at practice to reach their potential. We won 16 games, which is one more than last year. We played in the district championship game for the seventh time in nine years, winning five of them. We have won double-figure games for 16 consecutive seasons. We have won at least 11 games per season over 16 years and have had 15 winning seasons and one .500 year.”
This most recent district final saw the Hawks outshoot South O’Brien 56 percent (23-of-41) to 41 percent (21-of-52). When isolating the three-point shooting, St. Mary’s was even better, going 9-for-14 for 64 percent. The Wolverines were 6-of-20 from beyond the arc. The Hawks also enjoyed an edge at the free throw line with 13 makes in 17 tries compared to a 3-of-5 night for South O’Brien.
Boston Riedemann led the Wolverines with 13 points, followed closely by Ben Woodall with 12. Willie Conley and David Bottjen each scored eight points. Hudson Oolman added six points while Derek Paulsen and Justice Frerk tallied two points apiece. Woodall and Sawyer Honkomp each contributed three assists.
St. Mary’s won the battle of the boards 26 to 16. Conley and Dain Moermond each pulled down three rebounds. Collecting two caroms apiece were Honkomp, Woodall and Bottjen. Paulsen came away with a pair of steals. The Hawks turned the ball over 12 times. South O’Brien was guilty of nine turnovers.
Five seniors finished their Wolverine basketball careers. Said Yates, “We have two fine senior captains who provided good leadership in Dain Moermond and Jacob Van Lith, who I wish could have played his senior year. He missed due to a football injury. Three other starters were Hudson Oolman, Boston Riedemann and Sawyer Honkomp. We wish them the best in their future. We appreciate the time they put in over the years to improve.”
S. O’Brien
2 22 14 13 – 51
St. Mary’s
26 9 19 14 – 68