Central boys lose overtime thriller to Turkey Valley, pull away from Postville
Griffen Hammersland hefts up a three-point shot in Central’s overtime loss to Turkey Valley. (Photos by Willis Patenaude)
Isaac Loan and Jake Hertrampf vie for a rebound versus Turkey Valley.
Vaughn Zittergruen defends a Trojan player in last week's loss.
By Willis Patenaude | Times-Register
The game between the Central boys basketball team and Turkey Valley on Jan. 21 featured 134 shots, a 13-point comeback and thrilling overtime.
Both offenses were a bit sluggish through the opening minutes of the first quarter, with the Warriors scoring only on a shot by Jake Hertrampf, who finished with eight points, while the Trojans put up six points.
Central then went on a 10-4 run, ignited by Owen Hammersland—who finished with 23 points, including five threes while shooting 40.9 percent from the field. Back-to-back scores by Hammersland tied the score 6-6 with just over three minutes left in the quarter, and a Vaughn Zittergruen layup for two of his nine points gave Central an 8-6 lead. Carson Ruegnitz added four of his 10 points in the final minutes, hitting multiple jump shots, and the Warriors took a 12-10 lead.
The second quarter was another close one, but Mason Loan got it started with a rebound into a layup for two points. The Warriors held a 20-14 advantage midway through the period after Zittergruen and Isaac Loan, who scored seven in the game, and Hammersland all hit shots. Central extended the lead to 25-18, but the Trojans scored the final four points of the half, including a buzzer beater, to make it 25-22.
The Warrior offense scored 22 points, while the defense, which forced 17 turnovers and 13 steals and limited rebounds, held the Trojans to just 12 points in the third quarter. Hammersland hit a three-pointer from the corner to open the scoring floodgates. Ruegnitz got back in on the action, scoring off a rebound, and Hertrampf nailed a three midway through the quarter to extend Central’s lead to 33-27.
Ruegnitz put through two more jump shots in the quarter, and a Hertrampf three in the closing seconds increased Central’s lead to 13, at 47-34, heading into the final period.
The fourth opened well for Central, including a layup by I. Loan, and Hammersland continued to drain three-point shots. With 3:30 left in the game, and the student section chanting, “We can’t hear you,” the Warriors were in the lead 56-46.
From that point on, the Trojans went on a 12-2 scoring run, as Central’s turnovers and inability to limit offensive rebounds went missing. Turkey Valley tied the game 58-58 at the free throw line—where they shot 21 times compared to Central’s eight—with 14 seconds to go. The Warriors had a chance to win the game, but a Griffen Hammersland three-point attempt and O. Hammersland put back didn’t fall.
The Warrior offense scored just three points in overtime, as the Trojans put up six. As time ran out Turkey Valley’s cheerleaders gleefully chanted “Scoreboard! Scoreboard! Scoreboard!” Despite winning the turnover and rebound battles and shooting 12 more shots, Central lost 66-61.
“Unfortunately, a lot of the things we had done well for the first three quarters, like not turning the ball over and limiting their offensive rebounds, had started to become difficult for us down the stretch,” said coach Brady Stramer.
The Warriors found themselves in another close game Jan. 24, against the Postville Pirates. They pulled ahead 9-4 early, capitalizing on several Pirate turnovers. Hertrampf scored four of his 13 points in the first minute, while O. Hammersland dropped in a three pointer and layup to collect five of his team-high 18 points.
Postville fired back, though, hitting shots in the paint to pull within three points, 11-8, before Central’s defense gave up a shot from behind the arc with 10 seconds to go, allowing Postville to tie the score 11-11.
The offenses traded shots for much of the second period, but Postville maintained a lead for the majority. O. Hammersland hit another three-pointer, while Hertrampf, who finished with a team-leading 16 rebounds, also made shots at the free throw line, where Central shot 75 percent. Ruegnitz added a couple jump shots and M. Loan buried a three with a minute left to pull Central within one point, 25-24, at halftime.
The third quarter was a high scoring one, as both teams put up 18 points, including a three by O. Hammersland, who drained two more on a fast break after a steal and assist from M. Loan.
The Warriors trailed by 10 with 2:20 left in the quarter, but Hertrampf drove down the center of the lane for a layup, and Zittergruen made a shot “and 1,” as well as a deep three from the top of the arc, to pull Central to within one, 43-42.
From there, Central dug deep and just kept shooting, while the defense forced more outside shots from the Pirates, who did not convert. This led to a 19-6 point disparity in favor of the Warriors, who won 61-49.
The Warrior offense finished at 36.7 percent shooting and 20 total assists, with eight from I. Loan and five from M. Loan.
“We did a great job of taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over 11 times, which is well below our season average. We also played really good man defense in the fourth quarter, which forced Postville into taking some tough contested shots. I felt like we settled for perimeter shots a bit in the first half, but, thankfully, our guys made an adjustment and started attacking the basket more in the final ten minutes,” Stramer said.
The Warriors will take on the MFL MarMac Bulldogs Jan. 28, and will host Kee Jan. 31.
