Bulldog boys score senior night win

OTTUMWA — The first 28 minutes of Friday's regular-season finale were not the best 28 minutes of Sam Yeaway's young Ottumwa basketball career.

The last 3:21, however, more than made up for that. Playing for the senior members of the 2016-17 OHS boys basketball team, Yeaway picked the perfect time to score all nine of his points as the Bulldogs turned a slim one-point lead late in regulation into a 49-41 win highlighted by three-straight field goals and a free throw from their sophomore guard.

"Coach Kanaskie told us before the game we were doing this for the seniors," Yeaway said. "Trey (Thomas), Dalton (Bowers), Kane (Brumbaugh), Wyatt (Crosby), David (Bossou) have all given a lot to this program. They've stuck with it since they were freshmen and sophomores.


"Plus, everything tastes better when you win, so I decided to go out and get one for the seniors."

Southeast Polk's bid to be a Senior Night spoiler started with a baseline jumper from Luke Williams and a 3-pointer from Willie Tunks. Wyatt Crosby's own 3-pointer and a putback by Kane Brumbaugh would answer that start and level the score at 5-5.

Brumbaugh and Crosby would combine to score the first eight points for Ottumwa before Jayqwon Bridges put the Bulldogs ahead at the charity stripe in the final minute of the opening quarter. Andrew Curran would nail a pair of 3-pointers in the second quarter as Ottumwa would build its own five-point lead before a nine-point surge from Southeast Polk senior Jackson Cole helped pull the Rams within 23-21 at the half.

The game remained tight throughout much of the second half, though Ottumwa never gave up the lead. Noah Boyer's lay-up off a half-court feed from Jayqwon Bridges put OHS ahead by five in the opening minute of the final quarter, but the Rams (3-18) continued to respond and pulled within 36-35 with under four minutes remaining.

Having not scored a single point all night, Yeaway didn't hesitate on an open look from the wing. After burying his first 3-pointer, Yeaway got the exact same look on the next Ottumwa possession and buried his second 3-pointer in a 19-second span, giving Ottumwa a 42-35 edge with 3:02 left.

"It wasn't going well for the first three quarters. That's when I thought about the seniors and picked it up for them," Yeaway said. "They've told me to shoot it before. I told myself that I had to shoot it. I started feeling it and I just started shooting it.

"I'm really close to Trey, Dalton. I've known David since I was in sixth grade. We've all been really close with the seniors. I like hanging out with those guys. They deserve this win."


Head coach Kevin Kanaskie spoke about the unselfish dynamic of the Ottumwa boys basketball senior class for 2017. All five seniors have had to share playing time with young underclassmen like Yeaway, Bridges and Andrew Curran during the course of the season.

"It's hard for a senior to be asked to give up some of those minutes on the court, but they really embraced what we're trying to accomplish as a program," Kanaskie said. "They've embraced all our younger players with open arms. They're all good people. I can't say enough about our seniors."

Ottumwa (6-15) will open up postseason play at Des Moines Roosevelt on Monday night against the Roughriders. Roosevelt won both regular-season meeting over OHS, both by margins of seven points (48-41 at OHS and 40-33 at Roosevelt). The winner heads to Des Moines Hoover for the substate semifinals on Friday, Feb. 24.