|
|
|
Independence, MO —
The Fort Osage boys basketball team will have to be sharper.
The Indians will have to knock down free throws. They’ll have to hit open jumpers. They’ll have to handle the ball better, and they’ll have to show more composure.
They’ll have to do all that if they’re going to put together a string of postseason victories. But at least for Tuesday, the Indians did just enough to hold on for a 42-40 victory over North Kansas City in the first round of the Class 5 District 14 Tournament at William Chrisman High School.
Fourth-seeded Fort (12-13) earned the program’s first district win since 2009 despite an 8-minute, 49-second scoreless stretch that bridged the third and fourth quarters. The Indians survived even though they shot just 3 of 8 from the free-throw line in the final 1:10. And they advanced although North Kansas City’s leading scorer, Roy Clayter (14 points), got off a potential game-winning 3-pointer that bounced off the rim as time expired.
“We didn’t necessarily play that game to win,” Indians coach Josh Wilson said. “We played it not to lose it. When you play like that in this kind of environment, you’re gonna get beat. So hopefully we’ll learn from that.”
The good news for the Indians, who will meet Winnetonka at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, is that they’ve now won six of their last nine games to match their highest victory total since the 2004-05 season. And although they’ve never won a district title, they took the top-seeded Griffins (17-8) to double overtime just 12 days ago before falling 75-68 and have already beaten No. 2 seed Kearney (14-11) twice.
“The way we’ve been working lately, it’s just crazy how we’ve turned our team around,” said Fort Osage junior D’Vante Mosby, who finished with seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds. “We’re believing in the us concept and believing in the team. With all the work we’ve put in after school together, day to day, there’s no reason we shouldn’t go in confident.”
The Indians started with a burst against the Hornets (6-19), jumping to a 15-5 lead in the first quarter. They kept the lead near double digits until the 3:28 mark of the third period. That’s when the scoreless drought started and Fort didn’t score again until the final 2:39 of the fourth quarter. That included a sequence when the Indians turned the ball over on five of six possessions.
The Fort Osage boys basketball team will have to be sharper.
The Indians will have to knock down free throws. They’ll have to hit open jumpers. They’ll have to handle the ball better, and they’ll have to show more composure.
They’ll have to do all that if they’re going to put together a string of postseason victories. But at least for Tuesday, the Indians did just enough to hold on for a 42-40 victory over North Kansas City in the first round of the Class 5 District 14 Tournament at William Chrisman High School.
Fourth-seeded Fort (12-13) earned the program’s first district win since 2009 despite an 8-minute, 49-second scoreless stretch that bridged the third and fourth quarters. The Indians survived even though they shot just 3 of 8 from the free-throw line in the final 1:10. And they advanced although North Kansas City’s leading scorer, Roy Clayter (14 points), got off a potential game-winning 3-pointer that bounced off the rim as time expired.
“We didn’t necessarily play that game to win,” Indians coach Josh Wilson said. “We played it not to lose it. When you play like that in this kind of environment, you’re gonna get beat. So hopefully we’ll learn from that.”
The good news for the Indians, who will meet Winnetonka at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, is that they’ve now won six of their last nine games to match their highest victory total since the 2004-05 season. And although they’ve never won a district title, they took the top-seeded Griffins (17-8) to double overtime just 12 days ago before falling 75-68 and have already beaten No. 2 seed Kearney (14-11) twice.
“The way we’ve been working lately, it’s just crazy how we’ve turned our team around,” said Fort Osage junior D’Vante Mosby, who finished with seven points and grabbed 11 rebounds. “We’re believing in the us concept and believing in the team. With all the work we’ve put in after school together, day to day, there’s no reason we shouldn’t go in confident.”
The Indians started with a burst against the Hornets (6-19), jumping to a 15-5 lead in the first quarter. They kept the lead near double digits until the 3:28 mark of the third period. That’s when the scoreless drought started and Fort didn’t score again until the final 2:39 of the fourth quarter. That included a sequence when the Indians turned the ball over on five of six possessions.
But while the Hornets did eventually draw within 41-40 with 7.9 seconds remaining, they never quite caught all the way up.
“We still got the rebounds when we needed it, still defended when we needed it,” Wilson said.
So while Wilson will have plenty of things to nitpick between now and Thursday, at least he can take some solace in the fact that his team can find a way to win when things don’t go according to plan.
“I feel confident in our team where we can pull through stuff like that,” added Zach Adams, who led the Indians with 12 points and seven boards.
