Oliver Springs Upsets Oneida 56-52 for District Crown
By Terry Futrell
The top-seed Oneida Indians found the Oliver Springs Bobcats a bit too much to handle in their bid for the District 3-1A boys basketball championship Tuesday evening, losing a hard fought battle to the Bobcats 56-52.
The Indians played without two of their starters who had contributed a combined 19 points in Oneida’s semifinal victory over Wartburg four days earlier. Fortunately, Oneida’s Rylan Duncan stepped up his game and poured in 17 points for the Indians – 13 points more than he scored against Wartburg. Mason Keeton and Hayden Brawner combined for 20 points for Oneida.
Oneida held Bobcat Keaton McDonald, tournament MVP, to 10 points, only half of his scoring output against Sunbright in the semifinals. But Bobcats Tanner Melton and Javan Barger carried the load for Oliver Springs, combining for 30 points against the Indians.
Oliver Springs took an early 10-2 lead in the game with Melton leading the Bobcat charge. Slowly, Oneida fought back and closed the Bobcat lead to 13-11 at the end of the first quarter, with five Indians putting points on the board.
Oneida almost immediately took the lead 14-13 in the second quarter. The Bobcats fought back and regained the lead at 21-19. The score was tied three times during the second quarter, with the final tie of 23-23 at the half.
Oliver Springs took the lead 29-27 in the third, but Oneida quickly bounced back and led by eight points late in the third. The Bobcats managed to get one more basket, but Oneida led 45-39 at the end of three.
Oneida continued to lead by five, 48-43 with 6:14 remaining, but the Indians would manage only four more points in the final six minutes. Meanwhile, Oliver Springs kept chipping away and regained the lead 54-52 with 1:46 remaining. The Bobcats added one more score with 4.1 seconds remaining and won their first district championship since 2010 by a score of 56-52.
Oliver Springs moves on to host Midway in regional quarterfinals Saturday evening, and Oneida hosts Rockwood in the opening round of regional play.
