By Fred Kroner
The Oakwood Comets were held to three first-quarter points on Wednesday (Feb. 23) and couldn’t catch up, dropping a 43-34 decision to St. Joseph-Ogden in a semifinal game of the Tolono Unity Class 2A boys’ basketball regional tournament.
Josh Young led the Comets with 17 points. Dalton Hobick added nine points on the strength of three three-point shots. Grant Powell had five points, Josh Ruch added two points and Griffin Trees scored the team’s other point.
Oakwood finishes the season with a 24-8 record, but just one of the losses was by more than nine points. Oakwood held a 20-18 edge in points scored during the second half.
SJ-O has a 22-9 season record.
Young led the team in scoring in 21 games this season. Hobick set the pace in 11 games. Powell led twice and Ruch once.
Young boasted a team-high 16.1 per-game scoring average. Hobick averaged 13.8 points per game and had the team’s top individual scoring game, notching 32 points. Young had a 30-point game.
Other top scorers for the Comets were Powell (7.7), Gaven Clouse (4.9), Ruch (4.5) and Tanner Pichon (4.1).
Hobick led the team with 45 three-point conversions. Powell sank 31 shots from beyond the three-point line. Ruch made 15 three-pointers and Griffin Trees hit 14 three-pointers.
Clouse (76.9 percent) held a slight edge over Young (76.5 percent) in free throw accuracy. Hobick nailed 67.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
Ruch connected on 76 percent of his free throws, but averaged less than one attempt per game.
The Oakwood seniors were Clouse, Austin McDaniel, Trees and Young.
