But it was the Silverstreaks prevailing at the end. The score was 48-46.
The Tigers are preparing for their final two regular season games which will be at home, the Tiger Center. Thursday, March 11, will have a matchup with Benson. Then on Friday the foe will be Sauk Centre.
Our won-lost mark is a disappointing 4-12. In conference: 4-6. Against section foes: 2-5. So the post-season is likely to present an uphill challenge. Coach Dale Henrich will be pushing his squad to surprise their fans.
Player grandparent Tom Carrington was disappointed that the Tigers could not get off a final shot in regulation.
The Silverstreaks are a team headed in the right direction, owner of a four-game win streak coming out of Friday. They led for much of the night but never in a commanding way. Their coach Pat Kalpin commented on the end of regulation when MACA was stymied: "We were able to get a defensive stop to get the game to overtime."
Kalpin talked about the defense, but I think astute fan Carrington might suggest we could have executed better to get off a shot. Such commentary is the prerogative of all fans, especially grandparents, I might suggest! I covered Meredith Carrington's father Matthew for the Morris paper when he was orange and black. Oh, and Meredith's aunt too: Anna. I witnessed Matt hitting a long home run to center at Willmar in Legion baseball.
Things went bleak for MACA at the start of overtime: Osakis scored the first five points as Grace Oeltjen hit a '3' and Hayleigh Niehoff made a 2-pointer. The Tigers were certainly in the running at the very end. We had the ball with four seconds remaining. But we had to go the length of the court. Osakis coach Kalpin explains: "We forced them into a half-court shot miss to win the game. It was a fun game for our team being it was senior and parents' night." (The quotes are from the Echo-Press.)
Either the MACA shooting was off or the Osakis defense was stiff: we shot just 27.8 percent.
We had a hard time trying to contain Alexis Johanson who put in 19 points, plus she had seven rebounds. Tessa Stanek provided nine points and delivered four assists. Coach Kalpin said "different girls stepped up and made plays to help us get the win."
The Tigers outscored the Silverstreaks 22-19 in second half play. Osakis had the 8-6 advantage in OT. Maddy Grove was the top orange and black scorer with 12 points, plus she grabbed six boards. LaRae Kram had impact with ten points, five rebounds and four steals. Meredith Carrington supplied nine points and stole the ball three times. Sydney Dietz was active on the boards with ten rebounds. Dietz added six points.
MACA made 20 of 72 in total field goals. In freethrows: three of eight. We had 50 rebounds.
Osakis was a force with 3-point shooting where their numbers were nine of 22. In total fields the Silverstreaks were 17/53. In freethrows: 5/17.
Spring has nearly sprung
Isn't the milder weather therapeutic now? I had an unexpected surprise over the weekend as high school classmate Art Cruze, MHS '73, stopped by to visit. He called Pizza Hut Saturday afternoon to see if they were open for dine-in. I have not considered Pizza Hut a dining option for a long time. What a pleasant surprise on Saturday as we found there was new ownership there.
I could have fainted: we actually got enthusiastic service as dine-in customers. This has not been this restaurant's forte over the recent past, or at least when last I occasionally stopped in. I got so perturbed at one point I "flamed" the place in online customer feedback. So it has not been high on my list since. But now, based on Saturday, my assessment is totally on the opposite end. Art and I enjoyed good pizza, good and friendly service, and we got caught up on some things.
Our 50-year class reunion is coming up in 2023. Heavens, where does the time go? Our '73 Class has gone through the phases of all classes. At the ten-year, no matter what you do for an occupation, it sounds impressive, doesn't it? The 20-year went swimmingly. I helped organize the 30-year and found the turnout to be a little disappointing. At that stage, I think many class members are focused on their own kids wrapping up high school education.
The 40-year: I missed that one, partly because my father had just passed away. Little by little we lose our parents. We're tempted to think we're more vigorous than other high school classes but find in the end, we're all programmed the same way by our maker.
The Class of '73 graduated during times that were not the most optimistic. The '70s became known as the Murphy's Law decade. Speaks for itself. America was still smarting from the horrendous Vietnam war. We were stunned by inflation in the economy. There are warning signs right now that inflation may be on the way again. It will be more of a shocker than you probably think.
Society lowered the drinking age for us Class of '73 members. What a "favor." It was of course complete folly. The youth of the early '70s got dragged into dysfunction and even self-destructive behavior, all very sad. The kids of today develop such an opposite outlook, wonderful to see. However, excessive optimism can breed naivete, let me warn you.
Art and I have the background for dealing with new bumps in the road. I encourage you all to go back to Pizza Hut, give "the Hut" a chance again!
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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