Osky Girls Fall, Boys Bounce Back Against DCG

Posted on February 2, 2026 by Sam Parsons

By Sam Parsons

On Friday night, Oskaloosa hosted Dallas Center-Grimes for a conference girls and boys basketball doubleheader, with the girls facing one of the top teams in the state and the boys looking for a bounce-back game against the Mustangs.

Girls Game

Oskaloosa’s girls faced a difficult task: the #4 ranked Mustangs came to town and they were aiming to continue their dominance over much of the conference. They ended up doing just that.

The Indians found themselves down 12-7 late in the first quarter, being able to generate a little bit of offense against a disruptive Mustang defense, but from there, DCG went on a 22-2 run over the rest of the first half. It was 34-9 at halftime, and a running clock was forced by the 3rd quarter. Oskaloosa once again struggled at the free throw line, sinking just 4 of 12 attempts as a team from the charity stripe.

Their ongoing free throw struggles were exacerbated by the DCG defense forcing a total of 26 turnovers. Oskaloosa ended up shooting just 18.8% (6/32) from the field and the final score was 60-17 in favor of the Mustangs. Osky’s record dropped to 3-13 on the season, and Friday night marked their 8th consecutive loss since returning from winter break.

Boys Game

The nightcap of Friday night’s doubleheader was a pivotal one for both Oskaloosa (9-6) and Dallas Center-Grimes (8-5). Osky’s boys were in need of a confidence boost after dropping 4 of their previous 5 games, while DCG was hoping to stay within shouting distance of 1st place in the Little Hawkeye Conference standings.

As they have in a growing number of games this year, Oskaloosa found themselves down early when DCG jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first quarter. A slow start offensively for the Indians was met by a fast-paced DCG attack that claimed the momentum for a few minutes after tip-off.

The Indians, however, were able to right the ship. They outscored DCG 19-12 over the remainder of the 1st half and were able to take a tie game (38-38) into the fourth quarter.

Throughout the game, the sense of urgency displayed by the Indians was clear as they were attempting to beat the Mustangs for the first time since 2019. They had lost 13 straight games against DCG prior to Friday night, but senior guard Heavon Knox said that the team wasn’t so focused on the name of the team they were up against.

“We’re not really looking at it as DCG, because this Oskaloosa basketball team is coming in kind of different this year,” said Knox after the game. “We’re not really focused on the teams we’re beating, we’re focused on just beating them, and getting wins.”

The Indians proceeded to outplay the Mustangs on both ends of the floor in the final quarter. For the game, the Indians out-rebounded the Mustangs 24-17, despite the Mustangs possessing more raw size; and the Indians were the better shooting team from 3-point range, knocking down 7 of 18 attempts (38.9%), compared to the 5 of 21 (23.8%) converted by DCG. Oskaloosa seized the lead early in the 4th quarter and staved off the comeback efforts mounted by the Mustangs to win 56-51.

Despite not dwelling on their competition, Knox took plenty of joy in helping to defeat a team that had the Indians’ number for several years.

“It feels fantastic,” he said. “Especially coming off last week, we had a little bump in the road. I feel like today, we really brought back some of the momentum we had back from the Pella game and those past games.”

Oskaloosa’s win brought their record to 10-6 on the season and 4-5 in conference play; DCG dropped to 8-6 with a 5-3 record in the conference.

The Indians will stay home on Tuesday night (2/3/26) for their second matchup against the Pella Dutch. Coverage will air on KBOE 104.9 FM and kboeradio.com starting at approximately 5:45pm.

Osky Boys Survive Road Test at Dallas Center-Grimes

Posted on December 15, 2017 by KBOE Administrator

It wasn’t easy, but the Oskaloosa Boys’ Basketball Team was able to find a way to pull out a 56-49 victory over Dallas Center-Grimes on the road. It was a bad night for the Osky girls as they were defeated by DCG, 81-7.

The boys’ game featured two teams ranked in the Iowa Prep Hoops top ten in Class 3A with Osky coming in at #4 and DCG at #7. They played it tough throughout, but Oskaloosa will point to several areas in which they could have done better and made this one a little easier on the hearts of Indian supporters.

The first quarter saw the Indians rack up several three pointers and a fast pace against DCG’s man-to-man defense. That run saw Osky open up a 20-8 lead with a few minutes left in the first. The Mustangs would switch into a zone defense and slow the pace and fight back to a 20-12 deficit at the end of the first.

In the second, both teams struggled to score the ball with the limited possessions and few fastbreak opportunities. DCG was able to make a couple of long-range buckets to cut the Osky lead to three at the half, 29-26.

The third quarter was equally difficult for both teams to score, but it was during this period that Osky botched multiple attempts at dunks and layups, allowing the Mustangs to hang around. After the third, it was still a three point affair, 39-36.

The fourth quarter was interesting, as Osky built the lead up to nine with good defense and some made shots from outside. The game remained in the balance, however, due to poor free throw shooting down the stretch. Oskaloosa would finish the game just 11 for 22 from the charity stripe and until the last few moments, DCG was within one or two possessions. Eventually, four made free throws from Rian Yates allowed the Indians to close the game out and get the road win, 56-49.

Oskaloosa was led in scoring by Xavier Foster, who started hot and took the game over in the second half when Osky needed it most with the offense struggling. Foster finished with 17 points, 7 boards, and 3 blocks. Cole Henry and Jarad Kruse each had 10 points. Henry added 6 rebounds and 6 assists.

Osky’s boys are now 7-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. DCG falls to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the LHC.

For the Osky girls’ game, it was all Fillies from the tip to the buzzer. That included shutting out the Indians in the entire second half. The final score was 81-7. Osky drops to 0-6 on the year and 0-3 in the Little Hawkeye with DCG now 6-2 and 3-0 in the LHC.

Oskaloosa’s basketball teams are back in action at home against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont in a battle of Mahaska County schools. The doubleheader starts with the girls game at 5:30 PM with the boys’ game to follow.

Oskaloosa Rolls to 6-0 with Thrashing of Washington

Posted on December 12, 2017 by KBOE Administrator

It was business as usual for the Oskaloosa Indian Boys’ Basketball team on Tuesday night. The Indians dominated Washington at home, 83-50, and stay unbeaten at 6-0.

Oskaloosa knew they had a huge size advantage, as Washington only had one player taller than 6-foot-tall available while the Indians have nine such players on their roster.

It was a slow start for both sides as neither side shot very well in the first few minutes, but the pace picked up and Oskaloosa used plenty of fastbreak and transition opportunities to take an early 21-14 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Indians started to roll in the second quarter with high-flying dunks from Cole Henry, Jarad Kruse, and Xavier Foster and hot shooting from others to open up a 46-22 lead at the half.

The third quarter was again extremely entertaining as both teams traded highlight reel plays. Osky had the better of them, as Foster had multiple dunks in the period and Osky could not be stopped in the offensive half of the floor. After three periods of play, it was all Osky, 75-41.

Head Coach Ryan Parker emptied the bench in the fourth quarter and the Indians cruised down the stretch to their 83-50 win.

Oskaloosa was led by Jarad Kruse, who finished with 22 points and added three assists, four steals, and two blocks. Cole Henry and Xavier Foster each had 17 points. Henry had six boards and three assists with a block while Foster finished with five rebounds, three assists, four steals, and three blocks in a complete effort. Spencer Tucker was also in double figures with 10 points and added six rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.

Washington was led by senior Jack Redlinger with 10 points.

Osky improves to 6-0 on the season while Washington falls to 0-4.

The Indians are back in action Friday night on the road at Dallas Center-Grimes in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The girls’ basketball teams will start the action around 6:15 PM. You can hear our pregame show on 99.5 FM and 740 AM KMZN and radiokmzn.com starting at 6 PM. The boys’ game will follow.

Oskaloosa Volleyball Falls on the Road To Grinnell

Posted on September 6, 2017 by KBOE Administrator

The Oskaloosa volleyball team was back in conference action on Tuesday night, but it didn’t end the way the Indians were hoping as they fell in straight sets on the road to Grinnell, 25-14, 25-23, 25-19.

Oskaloosa was behind the 8-ball early in all three sets, but battled back in the second and third sets to hang around until late. Several attack errors and an outstanding team defensive effort from the Tigers combined to frustrate several of the Indian attackers.

Josie Bunnell would get going late to log a game-high ten kills. Emily Richmond and Baylee Crawford both would have four kills in the match with Emma Kelderman adding three kills. Jolie Yang would serve up three aces for the Indians.

Grinnell had a very balanced offensive strategy. Junior Macy Harris led the way with nine kills in the game. Kiana Kies was a great option down the stretch for the Tigers, logging seven kills and two aces. Hope Nelson had six kills and Nicole Popp had five for the victors.

The win moves Grinnell to 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Little Hawkeye Conference. They will next be in action next Tuesday, September 12^th, on the road against Newton.

Oskaloosa falls to 3-7 overall on the season and 0-2 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. The Indians are back in action this Saturday against several teams at the Southeast Polk Tournament. Their next conference game will be next Tuesday, September 12^th, at home against Dallas Center-Grimes. You can hear that game starting around 7 PM on 99.5 FM and 740 AM KMZN with a live video stream with the help of the Oskaloosa Video Production program on radiokmzn.com and MCG Channel 7 in Oskaloosa.

In other volleyball scores in the area Tuesday night:

Albia 25-25-25, Centerville 20-20-14
Central Lee, Donnellson 25-25-25, Cardinal, Eldon 17-11-13
HLV, Victor 22-26-25-25, Lynnville-Sully 25-24-19-19
Pekin 25-25-25, Louisa-Muscatine 16-12-11
Pella 25-15-25-23-15, Pella Christian 20-25-18-25-9
Southeast Polk 25-25-16-23-15, Ottumwa 14-21-25-25-6
EBF 22-25-25-25, Clarke 25-22-18-10

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