In boys’ basketball scores from yesterday:

Chariton 75, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 38

Dallas Center-Grimes 51, Oskaloosa 38

Davis County 65, Clarke 56

Des Moines North 64, Ottumwa 45

Fairfield 49, Keokuk 45

Fort Madison 57, Washington 54

Keota 65, North Mahaska 53

Knoxville 75, Centerville 50

Lynnville-Sully 66, Tri-County 27

Montezuma 69, Belle Plaine 31

Moravia 54, Melcher-Dallas 37

New London 61, Cardinal 19

Newton 64, Grinnell 45

Norwalk 62, Pella Christian 59 (OT)

PCM 61, Nevada 51

Pleasantville 61, Central Decatur 60

Twin Cedars 55, Iowa Christian Academy 50

In girls’ basketball scores from yesterday:

Central Decatur 64, Pleasantville 18

Clarke 57, Davis County 38

Dallas Center-Grimes 67, Oskaloosa 23

Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont 61, Chariton 39

Grinnell 67, Newton 54

HLV 48, English Valleys 23

Iowa Christian Academy 68, Twin Cedars 32

Keokuk 59, Fairfield 43

Lynnville-Sully 50, Tri-County 32

Montezuma 63, Belle Plaine 42

Moravia 80, Melcher-Dallas 27

Nevada 57, PCM 17

New London 76, Cardinal 67 (OT)

North Mahaska 36, Keota 29 (OT)

Norwalk 43, Pella Christian 42

Ottumwa 54, Des Moines North 12

The Oskaloosa Indians were in action last night in conference play against Dallas Center-Grimes, and it didn’t end well after a couple of very different games.

The girls’ game got the action started, and Oskaloosa was already shorthanded with multiple players out who are normal parts of the rotation.

Osky would commit 15 first quarter turnovers as DCG dominated play en route to a quick 26-4 lead. It was smooth sailing for the Fillies from there, as they would coast to a 67-23 lead. DCG is now 8-2 on the year and in the mix to win the Little Hawkeye Conference, and Oskaloosa is now 0-6.

There were still a couple of very intriguing storylines for Osky, as Alexis Westercamp led all players in the game with 18 points and 7 rebounds. Maybe the most interesting storyline moving forward involves two new call-ups to the varsity roster.

Lindsey Holmberg and Marleigh DenBerger made their varsity debuts last night and immediately contributed good minutes. Both are looking to continue their growth at the JV level this season, but Head Coach Steve Kaisand thinks both can grow and be good contributors for the Indians this year.

The boys’ game was next, and it was a defensive struggle between two teams who had very different makeups despite very similar statistics.

Both teams had a hard time getting anything going offensively in the first half, as turnovers plagued both teams due to very aggressive defense. The halftime score was 21-18 in favor of the Mustangs.

The two teams battled neck and neck in the third quarter, and started the fourth with the same three point margin, as DCG led 33-30.

Early in the 4^th quarter, however, Oskaloosa had its first real lapse of the game, and over a two minute span, DCG increased their lead to a game-high ten points with just over five minutes remaining, and Oskaloosa wouldn’t be able to trim the deficit inside of three possessions. Following several free throws down the stretch DCG got the win, 51-38. Osky is now 3-4, and DCG is 6-3.

Jack Moore and Spencer Tucker paced Oskaloosa with 9 points each, while Wade Votroubek had his best game in a few weeks with an 8 point, 10 rebound showing.

Oskaloosa will be back in action on the hardwood this Friday night on the road for another Little Hawkeye Conference doubleheader. They will face a couple of improved Newton teams on the road. You can hear the action starting on 99.5 FM and AM 740 KMZN, the KMZN mobile app, and radiokmzn.com. It all begins with the Brown’s Shoe Fit Basketball Countdown, starting at 5:30 PM.

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s basketball team will begin the second half of its campaign in the top five nationally as the NAIA released its second Division I rating Tuesday.

The Statesmen (12-1, 5-0 Heart), winners of 12 straight, move up one position since last month and have 219 total points. The ranking is the highest for William Penn since finishing the 2012-2013 campaign at #2.

New #1 Georgetown (Ky.) has 250 points and all 10 first-place votes. Pikeville (Ky.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), and Columbia (Mo.) finish off the rest of the top five. #19 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) and #22 Central Methodist (Mo.) also represent the Heart of America Athletic Conference in the top 25; Benedictine (Kan.) is unofficially 29th and Avila (Mo.) is 36th.

William Penn returns to action Wednesday, traveling to Canton, Mo. to face Culver-Stockton at 7:30 p.m.

NAIA Men’s Basketball Rating #2 – January 5, 2016
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. Georgetown (Ky.) (10)
2. Pikeville (Ky.)
3. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)
4. Columbia (Mo.)
5. William Penn
6. LSU-Alexandria
7. Lewis-Clarke State (Idaho)
8. Dalton State (Ga.)
9. Arizona Christian
10. Talladega (Ala.)
11. Hope International (Calif.)
12. Westmont (Calif.)
13. Texas Wesleyan
14. Xavier (La.)
15. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
16. Carroll (Mont.)
17. Wayland Baptist (Texas)
18. SAGU (Texas)
19. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
20. Biola (Calif.)
21. Langston (Okla.)
22. Central Methodist (Mo.)
23. Montana State-Northern
24. Vanguard (Calif.)
25. Tougaloo (Miss.)

Others receiving votes: : Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 42; Campbellsville (Ky.) 42; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 31; Benedictine (Kan.) 27; Park (Mo.) 12; Wiley (Texas) 9; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 6; Mobile (Ala.) 5; Oklahoma City 4; Montana Western 4; Avila (Mo.) 3.
Story provided by Wade Steinlage

The William Penn softball program will be hosting a pitching clinic on Saturday, January 16 (1-3 p.m.) and a hitting clinic on Saturday, January 23 (1-3 p.m.).  The clinics will be held on campus in the Penn Activity Center with each clinic costing $40 ($70 for both).  The clinics are for girls in grades 1-12.  For more information or to register, please contact Head Coach Mike Christner at 641-673-1707 or Assistant Coach Steph Christner at 641-673-1705.

The annual Oskaloosa baseball Pitching Clinic will start January 16, 2016 in the upper gym at William Penn University.  You may contact Emory Stewart at his home phone 641-673-7031 or on his cell 515-418-2498 to preregister or go to the Oskaloosa Herald Office by Walmart in Oskaloosa to pick up a registration form.  Don’t delay as the sessions are already filling up.  There is only one slot remaining for the 2:00 session.

Pitching fundamentals are taught ranging from how to warmup, drills, grips, pitching mechanics and pitcher mindset.

Veteran pitching coaches assisting in this clinic are Bill Almond, assistant coach at Oskaloosa High School, Mark McCulley, assistant baseball coach at North Mahaska High School and Matt Miller, former head baseball coach at Twin Cedars High School.  These men have been working this clinic for years and work hard to teach each attendee the proper fundamentals of pitching.

The cost of the clinic is $195.00 per person and runs for 8 weeks.  4th and 5th graders start at 1:00 and runs until 2:00.  6th and 7th graders start at 2:00 and runs until 3:00, 7th and 8th graders start at 3:00 and runs until 4:00, and finally 9th-12th graders start at 4:00 and runs until 5:00.

Each pitcher must provide their own catcher.