OHS Bulldogs come up short on Senior Night

By KELLY TERPSTA, Courier sports writer

OTTUMWA — Sometimes the determination and drive isn’t enough — for whatever reason.

The breaks don’t bend a teams way and the balls doesn’t slither through the net in a favorable fashion.

The rim can be a cruel, vengeful beast on occasion.

Losing isn’t easy — never has been, never will.

The bright side for the Ottumwa boys basketball team is the clock is still ticking — time still on their side.

It was another disappointment for head coach Chris Gravett’s Bulldogs on Saturday versus West Des Moines Valley on Senior Night

His Bulldogs’ mettle remains strong, it’s the victory part that hasn’t come full circle.

Valley (3-14) earned just its third win of the season with a come-from behind 57-53 win on Ottumwa’s home floor – the tradition-rich Evans Middle School.

Ottumwa fell to 7-11 on the season and has now lost nine out of its last 11 games.

“Our guys fight as hard as they possibly can. I wish they’d get rewarded more,” said Gravett.

Valley sophomore guard Kale Abrahamson led all scorers with 25 points, drilling 12-16 free throws in a game that featured one momentum swing after another. Abrahamson’s 3-pointer from deep was critical, as it gave Valley a 50-48 lead with just over two minutes to play.

The lanky 6-5 Abrahamson would connect on two of his many free throws minutes later to give Valley a 52-48 lead.

The loss of Ottumwa senior point guard Michael Wetrich didn’t help either as he fouled out with 1:30 to go. Wetrich struggled shooting, as he was 0-8 in the first half and was held scoreless during those first two periods. He would finish with just five points, but did dish out seven assists.

Down 55-48 with just over a minute to play, sophomore Ben Kramer kept Ottumwa’s hope alive with a 3-pointer at the top of the arc. That trimmed Valley’s lead to 55-51 with 50 ticks left on the scoreboard. Fellow sophomore Erik Thorgaard’s jumper would slice Valley’s lead to 56-53 with 40 seconds left.

Ottumwa managed a steal on Valley’s next possession and Gravett used a timeout to try to engineer a tie ball game.

Ottumwa’s 3-point attempt did not find its mark and another tough setback was again put in the Bulldogs’ loss column.

“Every time it seems like we make any mistake, they cash in,” said Gravett. “Other teams make a mistake and they don’t pay for it like we do.”

Three Ottumwa seniors had productive games in Ben Ryder, Justin Rusch and Adam Goodvin.

Ryder finished with 18 points, Rusch notched 10 points and Goodvin hit for eight points, drilling two 3-pointers. Kramer also netted eight points on the day.

Ottumwa led 25-21 at intermission.

Wetrich’s first bucket of the game gave Ottumwa a 27-24 lead with 6:30 to go in the third. A Rusch jumper gave Ottumwa another lead at 33-30 midway through that period.

The game was a back-and-forth tussle all evening and no team saw a lead of more than four points until Valley extended its’ lead late.

Ottumwa plays its final home contest against Des Moines East this Friday.



West Des Moines Valley 57, Ottumwa 53

WDMV 13 8 16 20 — 57

OTT 13 12 10 18 — 53

WEST DES MOINES VALLEY (57) — Kale Abrahamson 6-14 12-16 25, Andy Knoff 5-6 0-1 10, Joe Maigaard 2-7 1-4 7, Tyler Anderson 2-5 0-0 4, Ben Guendel 1-2 2-5 4, Brennan Floss 1-4 2-2 4, Drew Hansen 1-2 1-2 3, Taylor Nelson 0-1 0-0 0, Chase Hirschauer 0-1 0-0 0, Grant Henning 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Hahn 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Carlson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 18-30 57.

3-point goals — 3-14 (Maigaard 2, Abrahamson). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — 33 (Abrahmason 6, Knoff 6, Hansen 5, Maigaard 4, Anderson 4). Assists — 16 (Maigaard 5). Steals — 6. Total fouls — 19. Turnovers — 12.

OTTUMWA (53) — Ben Ryder 7-15 4-7 18, Justin Rusch 4-6 2-2 10, Adam Goodvin 3-8 0-0 8, Ben Kramer 2-6 3-3 8, Michael Wetrich 2-15 0-1 5, Erik Thorgaard 2-6 0-0 4, Zach Throckmorton 0-2 0-0 0, Nathan Jay 0-0 0-1 0, Aaron Keith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-58 9-14 53.

3-point goals — 4-14 (Goodvin 2, Kramer, Wetrich). Fouled out — Wetrich. Rebounds — 28 (Goodvin 7, Ryder 5, Rusch 5, Thorgaard 4). Assists — 16 (Wetrich 7). Steals — 6. Total fouls — 22. Turnovers — 11.

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