Rams’ season ends in double-overtime loss

Glenwood had its chances.

The Rams had a free throw at the end of regulation and at the end of both overtimes to pull out the win and all three came up heartbreakingly short in a 65-64 loss to Saydel in the Class 3A, District 1 first round last Monday in Glenwood.

“We always say it takes 32 minutes and 13 men and you have to battle and battle and tonight it was 40 minutes,” said Glenwood coach Curt Schulte after the game. “We came up short unfortunately, but you can’t fault their effort. They played their hearts out and created opportunities in the game even when it wasn’t going our way and we kept fighting back. I’m just super proud of every one of them.”

Glenwood got off to a slow start offensively against the Eagle and their patented 2-3 zone defense. They missed 11 of their first 15 shots and turned the ball over nine times in the first half before finally wrestling away a 18-16 lead at the break.

“That’s what they’ve done all season and they’re really good at it,” Schulte said. “We just didn’t get the ball inside enough that first quarter, we settled on some shots. I do think we got better against it as the game progressed.”

After Saydel opened the half on a quick 7-0 run, the Rams responded to tie the game and the two teams traded leads a half dozen times to close out the third quarter.

In the fourth, the Eagles slowly began to pull away. Gage Moreno’s layup with just under six minutes to go put them ahead 43-37.

The Rams wouldn’t go away, however.

Evan Stanislav’s back-to-back three-points inside the final 40 seconds cut the Eagles’ lead to 52-40 with 24.5 seconds to go.

Glenwood’s defense would force a turnover on the ensuing possession to set up a final play. Kaden Crouch was fouled on his game-tying layup with :01.1 to go. But the free throw would roll out sending the game to its first overtime.

The Rams once again got down in the extra frame, turning the ball over twice and missing their first five shots at Saydel went ahead 56-52 with 2:42 to go.

Glenwood would muster another comeback. A Stanislav free throw and a Colin Steele three-point tied the game 56-56 with 18.8 seconds to go. They would get the ball back with another steal but a Stanislav three at the buzzer came up short.

In the second overtime, the Rans appeared to be in control when Colin Steele hit the second of his three-pointers in the frame to go ahead 64-60 with :51 left.

But the Eagles and Moreno would have the answer. The guard’s three-pointer with :44 left cut the lead to one. A steal on the ensuing possession found the ball right back in his hands and the senior’s scoop with 7.2 left put the Saydel ahead for good at 65-64.

A missed layup by the Rams with less than a second to go ended it.

The Eagles’ match-up zone came up especially big with the late game trap that forced the Rams’ final turnover and led to Moreno’s game-winner.

“They’re handsy and they’re quick and very athletic and unfortunately they were able to get their hands on a ball get a turnover late,” he said. “That’s the way it goes sometimes.”            

Moreno was a handful for the Rams all night off the dribble. The 5-foot-10 senior used his quickness to get paint touches for kickouts and layups for himself. He finished with a game-high 29 points on 10-of-23 shooting while adding six assists and grabbing four steals.

“He’s one of the top point guards in 3A,” Schulte said. “He’s averaging almost 23 (points) a game and he can get it to the rack and shoot the ball. And he’s a good leader.”

Stanislav led the Rams with 19 points. Steele added 14 points, Xavier Bowmaker chipped in nine points and Crouch finished with eight points and 10 rebounds.

Schulte said his team gave everything they had for 40 minutes and they understandably took the loss hard.

“It’s tough right now but the sun will come tomorrow,” Schulte said. “Everyone in that locker room, we love each other. I’m going to miss them. We have four great seniors who came to work every day. It’s a fun group to work with. My favorite part of my day was 3:30 to 5:30 because I knew I had an opportunity to work with greats kids and great coaches every day.”

The Rams close their season with a record of 14-8, including a 7-3 finish in the Hawkeye 10 Conference.

“I think we had a great season,” Schulte said. “Fourteen wins. We went nine deep and six of those kids are underclassmen. We have six guys coming back with a young group. The seniors we are definitely going to miss. But we have a lot of guys who got playing time this year and we’re excited for next season.”