Cyclones struggle at home against the Titans

The HCHS Cyclones boys basketball team has hit a bump in the road losing their third consecutive game 62-53 Friday night at home against their rival, the Lewis Central Titans.
“I thought our effort was incredible tonight,” said Cyclone Head Coach Mitch Osborn. “I thought we played extremely hard. The kids were charged up. We had opportunities. The free throw line was the difference. They were 22-for-28 and we were 7-for-17.”
Before the game, the school honored Mia Schwieso, who passed away two years ago.
“It’s tremendous,” Osborn said. “I was able to coach Chris [Schwieso] his junior and senior year, my first two years here. It’s very emotional and very, very tough, but a great tribute to Mia. It’s greatly appreciated and it’s a great community coming together supporting the Schwieso family and Mia will be remembered forever.”
Cyclone Senior Jozef Reisz got his team going scoring the first basket starting with a layup, which was followed later in the quarter with a 3-pointer from Senior Hayden Soma as the Cyclones trailed 16-11 at the end of the quarter.
“He [Reisz] was finishing,” Osborn said. “He was aggressive. He did a great job. Hayden Soma hits a 3 and charged up the crowd. We just needed more help.”
Cyclone Junior Dallas McDowell launched a 3-pointer to open the second quarter to cut the Titans lead down to two points. McDowell drained a few more 3-point shots before the quarter ended, followed by a mid-range floater helping his team tie the game at 29 at the half.
“We wanted to keep clearing the boards,” Osborn added. “I said we’ve got to knock down our free throws, but we’ve also got to make sure we rebound, limit them to one shot, and stop dribble drive penetration.”
The third quarter began with the Titans going on a 9-2 run widening their lead back to eight points. Just before the quarter concluded, McDowell made a mid-range jump shot to cut their lead back to four points, trailing 43-39 heading into the final quarter.
Senior Titan Parker Stessman erupted on the offensive end of the floor going for nine of the Titans 14 points in the fourth quarter.
“Parker Stessman, fourth quarter killed us,” Osborn said. “We played three different guys on him and he loves to go left and we didn’t shut him down. He got a couple of and 1’s and that really hurt us.”
McDowell continued to make shots from multiple areas of the floor, including Senior Weston Reisz who made a 3-pointer, and Jozef Reisz who added a few more layups, but it wasn’t enough as the Cyclones lost by nine points.
“Dallas did a terrific job,” Osborn added. “He’s doing super. We can’t take him out. He just needs more help. Weston hit a 3-pointer late, which was good to see, but we’ve got to have it earlier. Other guys have to step up.”
The Cyclones will be back in action Tuesday at Well Fargo Arena against the 2-16 Atlantic Trojans. The Trojans are led by Senior Gavin McLaren 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, along with Senior Kinnick Juhl averaging four assists per game.
“It’ll be fun to play on that court,” he said. “The crowd won’t be like a state tournament game. It’ll almost be like a glorified scrimmage. It’s going to be a great opportunity for our guys to play in that facility and it should be fun to see. Atlantic is going to want to win. We’re going to want a win. It’s two hungry teams.”