Green Devils downed by Bearcats

PREP BOYS BASKETBALL: NORTH BUTLER 55, OSAGE 49 OT

Green Devils downed by Bearcats

Tuesday night’s 55-49 overtime victory against Osage was one head coach Dave Brown said his team has been waiting on for years.

When the buzzer sounded, the raucous crowd at North Butler High School high-fived, cheered, and lined up in tunnel formation to send its team to the locker room with a win.

“As a coaching staff, we’ve been waiting for a win like this for six years,” Brown said. “We’ve never been able to rise up to the challenge of a really good basketball team, and tonight they did.”

With 8.3 seconds left in the game, senior Reid Lammers hit two free throws to send the game to overtime at 44-44. The Bearcats drew up two plays with 45 seconds left that called Lammers’ number, but the first didn’t work.

Then, with 10 seconds left, Lammers was fouled and hit his free throws.

“I know any one of our guys can make those shots,” Lammers said. “I’m just glad that when that time comes, my teammates trust me enough to take the shot.”

In overtime, Lammers hit a pair of free throws when being intentionally fouled, to solidify the victory.

“We knew the team had some good shooters, so we really stressed that this week (in practice),” Lammers said. “We got to stay in the game, and when you get down, you’re not out of it.”

The Bearcats led twice, once at 16-13 and then not again until 45-44 in overtime.

The win against Osage was “a big win,” Brown said. And the Bearcats aren’t unfamiliar with big wins. It’s what happens in the days after that this year’s team will hope to turn around.

“We beat Charles City here last year, and that was a big win, too. But we didn’t build off it,” Brown said. “It was a tough offseason. But coming into this season, as a coaching staff, we were trying to get these kids ready and get them to believe.

“A win like this is something we’ve been waiting for. It’s a very good win for us.”

By Stephen Koenigsfeld sports@charlescitypress.com