Hawks boys split week’s games

RANDOLPH – The Osmond-Randolph Hawks split games this week, defeating the Wausa Vikings and falling to the Stuart Broncos.

Hawks vs. Vikings

OSMOND — On Monday, Feb. 5, the Osmond-Randolph Hawks took on the Wausa Vikings in a home game in Osmond. The game was originally scheduled for Jan. 12, but was moved due to inclement weather.

The Hawks played in the close games the week before and continued the trend in this one, as they led 10-9 after one quarter of play and took a 20-15 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Vikes got hot for a spell in the third quarter and were able to take a 28-24 lead, but the Hawks kept clawing back. Senior Brayden Shearer completed an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 32, and then with 2:43 left in the game, Hunter Buchanan poked the ball away from a Wausa guard in the backcourt, received an assist from fellow senior Owen Severson, and converted a three-point play of his own to give the Hawks the lead.

The Hawks stalled over a minute off the clock while leading 36-35 before Wausa decided to foul Xander Brown with :33.7 to go, where he knocked down both FT. The Vikings got two attempts from three-point land off in the final possession, including one at the buzzer, but both were off the mark and the Hawks netted their fifth victory of the season against the 8-8 Vikings.

It was a well-played grinder of a game, with both teams slowing the pace and neither turning the ball over more than 10 times.

It was a well-rounded scoring effort, as eight Hawks got into the scoring column in the winning effort. Hunter Buchanan led the way with nine points, including 7/9 from the charity stripe. He was followed by sophomore Luke Harder’s seasonhigh eight points and Brown’s seven.

Shearer, Severson, Baylen Guenther, and Logan Lienemann all contributed with three points, and Ryan Engel finished the game with two. Brown was the game’s leading rebounder with seven boards. BOX SCORE FG FT Reb Pts L. Harder 1-3 0-0 0 2 Brown 2-9 0-0 2 5 Shearer 2-3 1-4 8 5 Severson 1-2 0-1 1 2 Guenther 1-6 2-2 1 4 Alderson 0-1 0-0 0 0 Buchanan 0-2 0-0 4 0 Lienemann 3-8 0-0 3 8 Engel 1-5 0-0 1 2 Hawks 11-39 3-7 20 28 Hawks vs. Broncos

OSMOND — Friday, Feb. 9, the Stuart Broncos came to Osmond in a rematch from the Randolph Holiday Tournament Championship in late December, a game the Broncos won 53-31.

Although the final score in this one was very similar at 51-30, it was not indicative of how close the game truly was. The Hawks tied the game late in the third quarter at 28 and trailed just 30-28 entering the final frame of play, but could not take care of the ball in the fourth, turning it over eight times in the quarter alone and being outscored 21-2 in the process.

Osmond-Randolph’s record fell to 5-15 while Stuart improved to 12-7 in the waning weeks of the regular season.

Lienemann was the leading scorer for the Hawks with eight points. Brown and Shearer each had five, while Shearer also ripped down eight rebounds in the loss. Guenther scored four, while Harder, Severson, and Engel each finished the game with two points. Engel dished out four assists in the losing effort. BOX SCORE FG FT Reb Pts L. Harder 4-9 0-0 2 8 Brown 2-9 3-3 7 7 Shearer 1-4 1-3 4 3 Severson 1-1 1-5 2 3 Guenther 1-2 0-0 3 3 Alderson 0-0 0-0 0 0 Buchanan 1-4 7-9 2 9 Lienemann 1-1 0-0 0 3 Engel 1-5 0-0 3 2 Hawks 12-35 12-20 23 38 The Hawks’ final regular season game will take place in Randolph against Hartington-Newcastle Friday, Feb. 16, a rematch from the conference tournament which saw the Wildcats come away with a 5139 victory. The Hawks will look to avenge the loss and ride a high note into postseason play.