By Sam Parsons
The Oskaloosa Indians boys basketball team entered Tuesday night’s home matchup against the Washington Demons having dropped 6 straight games against Washington dating back to 2020. The Indians were determined to put that streak to an end, and they did so in commanding fashion.
The game began as the definition of a back-and-forth affair. The first quarter saw the two teams trade baskets at a virtually even rate, and Washington held a 15-14 lead after 8 minutes of game time. The Indians and Demons appeared to be evenly matched for the entire first half, which ended with Oskaloosa possessing a 4-point lead. The score was 31-27 after two quarters.
The second half, however, was a much different story. Washington had been able to consistently drive to the basket in the first half to score easy points, but in the second half, the Indians defense put the clamps on them with a dominant effort. Layups became much more difficult to come by for the Demons, and their scoring output suffered as a result.
All the while, Oskaloosa’s offense kept on humming. 4 members of the Indians recorded double digit points on the night, led by junior Tyler Edgar’s season-high 20 points.
After the game, Edgar complimented his teammates for the well-rounded effort.
“I think it was a team effort of passing the ball and getting open…[my teammates] made some space for me, I got shots in, and because I hit those, it was good for the team.”
The win put Oskaloosa back on track after they suffered a close loss on Friday night against Indianola, which remains their only loss this season so far. Edgar said that the attitude the team showed in practice after that loss played a role in the Indians’ great showing against Washington.
“Everyone was at it [in practice], actually,” said Edgar. “The loss didn’t get to us. It just made us go into the next game stronger.”
In the end, Oskaloosa outscored Washington 35-15 in the second half after leading by just 4 points at halftime, making the final score 66-42 in favor of the Indians. It marked Oskaloosa’s first win over Washington since December 17, 2019.
Oskaloosa is now 4-1 on the season and they will travel to Dallas Center-Grimes on Friday before closing out their pre-winter break schedule at home on Saturday against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. The doubleheader vs. EBF will be broadcast on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at around 5:15pm on Saturday.
