Glenwood falls in double overtime at Lewis Central


Caden Johnson drives for two of his game-high 33 points in Glenwood’s double-overtime loss to Council Bluffs Lewis Central.

COUNCIL BLUFFS - For the second time in five days, Glenwood’s Kayden Anderson had the ball and the chance at a game-winner.

But unlike his previous three-pointer to beat Creston on Dec. 17, the sophomore’s runner at the end of regulation came up just short as the horn sounded and Council Bluffs Lewis Central forced not one but two overtimes before escaping the Rams’ upset attempts 74-67 in a double-overtime thriller in Council Bluffs last Tuesday.

It was hard for Glenwood coach Curt Schulte to find fault in his team’s effort or the great shot Anderson got after driving the length of the court in 5.6 seconds and getting with inches of the basket.

“He got a great look,” the coach said. “You couldn’t ask for a better look. We wanted to attack, we had five seconds on the clock and we wanted to get going downhill and get something at the glass and we came up just a little short.”

Schulte was proud of Anderson and his entire team for fighting all game long.

“I’m really proud,” the coach said. “After that first quarter, I thought we really played some good basketball. We battled and fought. I’m extremely proud of their effort.”

Early in the game the Rams had trouble adjusting to the size and physicality of a Titan  starting front court that went 6-foot-4, 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7. They trailed 15-7 after a quarter and by as many as nine points in the second frame before trimming the lead to 29-23 at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Rams’ spacing began to take its toll on the larger Titans. The path to basket got easier, the looks got a little more open and Glenwood inched back into it.

A 7-0 run helped by a three pointer by Caden Johnson and a tough layup from Logyn Eckheart and capped by Grant Von Essen’s putback with 1:55 to go in the third tied the game at 40-40.

“We did a lot better job after that first quarter,” Schulte said. “I think we attacked more offensively. We settled  for too much in that first quarter and played much more of our game the rest of the way.”

Caden Johnson’s layup handed the Rams’ their first lead of that game at 42-40 with just over a minute to go in the third quarter.

“We had a shot in the first overtime and we gave up three offensive boards that killed us. It’s tough to send it to a second overtime on the road and we just came up short.”

The Titans wrestled the lead back to open the fourth but back-to-back three pointers by Caden Johnson gave the Rams their biggest lead of the game at 49-45. The two teams would trade the lead five times over the final five minutes until L.C. appeared to take control ay 56-53 with just over a minute to go.

But a Jayme Fritts three tied it at 56-56.

The Titans burned two timeouts in the final minute but Cole Arnold’s runner came up short and handed the ball the back to the Rams and Anderson’s final shot.

In the first overtime, L.C. appeared to have the game in hand again leading 61-56 with two minutes to go but the Rams would battle back. A quick 5-0 run and a clutch three-pointer by Tommy Johnson’s gave the Rams a 63-61 lead with :16.9 seconds to go.

The Titans would again set up for a final shot. But after Nick Miller and Arnold’s attempts rimmed out, forward Wyatt Hatcher grabbed the offensive rebound and put it in to send the game to a second overtime.

The final overtime was all Lewis Central. They held the Rams without a field goal, forced three turnovers and out-scored them 11-4 in the frame to pull out the win.
Schulte stopped short of saying his team ran out of gas in the second overtime.

“It was a long hard game,” he said. “We had to battle to get back into it. That took a lot of energy from us. But we had our chance to end it regulation and a chance to win it in the first overtime and they hit some big shots and we didn’t have an answer.”

Caden Johnson hit big shots for the Rams’ all night, scoring a career-high 33 from all over the floor. Entering the game Schulte wasn’t even sure if he’d have his point guard in the line-up after he tweaked his ankle in practice the day before. But he’s glad he did.

“That shows his toughness,” Schulte said. “He showed a lot of heart. He’s our leader on the floor. He wanted the ball when the game was on the line.”

The Rams head into the holiday break with a record of 4-3 overall, including a 3-3 record in the Hawkeye 10 Conference. Two of the Rams losses were overtime and the third was to No. 4 rated Harlan.

“I’m really pleased with where we are right now,” Schulte said. “We have a lot of new faces on the floor and the guys are adapting really well. We’re competing with everybody right now. We’re just as anybody and we’re going to keep climbing that latter and get better.”

 

The Opinion-Tribune

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