The Lake Today

The Osage Indians had a tough finish to a tough season, finishing with a regular season record of 7-18.

A Valentine’s Day battle at Eldon brought home the fourth loss in a row for the Indians as the Mustangs outscored them 77-50 on the night.

Eldon switched up their regular starting lineup in order to give all seniors a chance to start a game and the Indians took advantage, leading 20-11 after the first quarter. Eldon found their groove to start off the second with an 11-point run to tie it up in the first two minutes of the period. They kept hammering away and Osage hit the lockers down 38-32.

Osage battled in the third quarter, scoring 17 to Eldon’s 21 points, but the fourth quarter they were all but shut down as the Eldon defense kept them out of the paint and allowed only one point.

Dylan McNerney led with 16 points followed by Jared Edwards with 11. Zach Edwards finished with nine points, Mack Murray had eight, Adam Hill added five and Tristan Hensley had one.

The Indians hosted the California Pintos on Thursday for senior night recognition.

Osage had turnover trouble from the start, letting go of five in the first quarter and finishing with a 19-9 deficit. They picked up steam and Jared Edwards led the team with nine points and getting to within one point of the Pintos with a halftime score of 29-28.

The second half was more of the same for the struggling Indians, but they brought it to within five points twice in the final period. A nine-point free-throw run in the final two minutes of the game clinched it for the Pintos and Osage fell 68-52 in the Tri-County match.

Friday was the season finale for the Indians and they suffered an 84-56 loss to the Blair Oaks Falcons on the road.

Blair Oaks leapt out in front with a quick seven points, but Osage rallied back and ended the first quarter with a 21-19 lead. The Falcons rallied back and took a 46-37 lead into the half. Jared Edwards was on point the whole first half, adding 16 points to the Indians total.

The second half was all Blair Oaks and the Osage crew was outscored 19-11 in the third and 19-8 in the final.

Jared Edwards led with 23 points on the night. Tristan Hensley added 10 points while McNerney finished with nine.

Osage (7-18) entered this week’s District 10 Tournament with a No. 5 seed, facing No. 4 seed Boonville (11-13) for the opener on Monday night. The winner of that game advances to face No. 1 seed Helias (17-8) at 6 p.m. tonight. The winner of tonight’s match will go on to the championship game at 7:30 p.m. Friday, facing the winner of the Eldon/Fulton game.