Osceola drops close one to state power Oak Ridge

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In a rematch of several state playoff basketball games from the past couple of years, Osceola came up just short against perennial state power Oak Ridge, dropping a hard-fought 70-66 decision at home on Jan. 16.

The Kowboys had played Oak Ridge three times in state tournament play in recent years, taking a 47-39 decision last season, losing a 57-54 decision in a year earlier, and winning 63-60 in 2016-17. In those two victories, Osceola went on to win the state championship.

“Another nail-biter against a really good team,” Osceola Head Coach Nate Alexander said. “We started off pretty good in the first half, but we went a little cold and also took some bad shots to start the third quarter. It put us behind the eight ball.”

Behind some sharp shooting, Osceola would build a 36-30 lead at intermission. During that first half, Osceola would hit eight three pointers, including three by Tyrese Carabello – who tallied 11 points in the half. Sean Combs and Josh Bazquez supported the effort with six and nine points, respectively.

But Osceola missed on an excellent opportunity to extend the lead in the half. Gaining possession with about 45 seconds to play, the Kowboys played for the last shot, but Armani Thomas missed a jumper from behind the arc and the Osceola fouled on the rebound.

Michael James hit one of two free throws with less than two seconds remaining resulting in a potential three-point swing.

Osceola came out cold in the second half; while Oak Ridge was red hot. With Osceola big man David Roc on the bench with an injured ankle, the Pioneers pounded the ball inside all period. Lewis Jones scored 14 points and Roderick Henry added seven, as Oak Ridge outscored Osceola 23-14 in the period to take a 53-50 lead.

“David was coming off an injury from earlier this season and was starting to play pretty good for us. Losing him in the first half certainly changed the complexion of the game and gave them an even bigger advantage on the boards,” Alexander said. “But we have been undersized all season and will not use that as an excuse. We took some bad shots in that third quarter and didn’t play with the same intensity that we did in the first half.”

The onslaught would continue in the fourth quarter, and when James completed a three-point play, as the Pioneers built a 10-point lead with just over three minutes to play. Osceola would battle back. Chris Combs would score six points down the stretch, Thomas would make a couple of baskets, and Osceola would hit all eight of its free throws in the period to cut the gap to one with less than a minute to go.

“We had our head down midway through the quarter and I told our guys the game was not over,” Alexander said. “They made a couple of defensive stops and converted them to points and all of a sudden we were back in the game.”

But some bad luck would stop the rally.

Osceola’s Chris Combs would get a steal and have a clear path to the basket for a go-ahead layup, but lost the ball going up for the shot. Trailing by two a few seconds later, the Kowboys would get another stop and was holding the ball for a potential game winning three-pointer. Osceola worked the clock down to 10 seconds left and Blazquez drove the lane and kicked the ball to Thomas in the corner. His shot went halfway down but bounced out. Henry would then hit two free throws to insure the win.

“We fought all the way back and had the ball in the hands of our best shooter with a chance to win the game,” Alexander said. “He took a great shot and unfortunately it did not go in. I was certainly proud of our team’s effort, we just came up a little short.”

For the game, Osceola was led by 17 points from Blazquez; 14 by Thomas; and 12 by Carabello. Chris Combs added nine, and Edwin Colon had six. Oak Ridge center James led all scorers with 25; Jones added 17; and Henry had 14.

The Kowboys will close out the regular season by competing in a pair of the tournaments, the OBC Championships next week and the FCA Honoring Legends Tournament at Lake Brantley the following week.

“Maybe not the greatest scheduled idea to play two tournaments at the end of the regular season, particularly since we are battling several injuries,” Alexander added. “Still the schedule is the schedule and it will help us get ready for the post-season.”

Osceola dropped to 13-4 on the season and will need seven more wins in the regular and post-season to move their streak of consecutive 20-win seasons to four.