Comets drop a pair of home games against Crestwood, Osage

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — No matter if you believe the cup is half-full or half-empty, when the ball is halfway through the hole and rims out it counts for nothing.

Such was the fate of Jack Molstead’s 3-point shot attempt in the final seconds of Charles City home basketball game against Osage on Saturday afternoon. The miss allowed the Green Devils to escape with a thrilling 67-66 victory while keeping their undefeated (14-0) record intact.

The weekend may not have been of the three-day variety, but it sure was a long won for the Comets who dropped back-to-back home games while falling to 9-3 overall.

The night before facing the Green Devils, Molstead had a hellish shooting night against a physical Crestwood team during Charles City’s 56-53 loss to the Cadets. He managed to bounce back and score a career-high 36 points against Osage which included a successful drive down the lane that drew hard contact but no whistle, giving the Comets a 66-64 lead inside the final minute of regulation.

But the hot hand of the game was Green Devil junior Drew Olson, who scored 39 points with eight 3-pointers, including the eventual game-winner with 13 seconds left.

Many of Olson’s “bombs” came from well beyond the arc. The possession before the game-winning shot, Olson attempted a 35-footer that provoked some incredulous gestures from his teammates as well as from the Osage faithful.

Guess you can’t blame a heat check from a Green Devil.

The game started inauspiciously for the Comets. The Green Devils jumped out to a 7-0 lead and got into the double-bonus before the start of the second quarter.

A steal and layup by Olson put Osage up by 10 (33-23), but Charles City finished the half strong as Molstead’s 3-pointer at the buzzer closed the gap to 4 (38-34).

The Comets found an offensive rhythm in the third quarter. Jaden Foster fed a lane-cutting Cade Hemesath, who finished the play to tie the game at 44. Then when Molstead drove the baseline before assisting a wide-open Noah Schlader in the corner for a 3-point shot, it put the Comets up 48-44.

Early in the fourth quarter, the ire of Osage coach Mike Brahm provoked a bench technical. That resulted in two made free throws by Molstead, and then two more FTs by Molstead when he was fouled during the ensuing possession awarded to the Comets.

All that gave the Comets a 58-48 lead with 5:30 left in regulation.

But the bench technical seemed to fire up the Green Devils as well as their large group of supporters. Osage eventually tied it at 62 when Benjamin Grimm hit a turnaround jumper in the lane with 2:05 left.

Aside from Olson and Molstead, the only other player in double-figures was Charles City junior Schlader with 11 points.

The night before against the Cadets, Schlader led the Comets with 17, which included four 3-point field goals.

Cadet senior Spencer Cuvelier had a game-high 19 points and helped Crestwood to an array of second- and third-chance shots with his work on the offensive boards.

Mike Cranshaw’s one-handed “tear drop” along the baseline over Cuvelier gave the Comets a 51-49 lead with 2:46 left in regulation. But Cuvelier’s 3-point play resulting from a put-back bucket put the Cadets up 52-51.

Two free-throws by Hakeen Sharief regained the lead for the Comets (53-52) in the final minute, but a 3-point play from Colten Wiley put the Cadets up for good.

“I give credit to Cresco,” Charles City coach Ben Klapperich said. “They had a great game plan going in and executed it.”

Cade Hemesath had 11 points for Charles City, but fouled out late in the game after getting into foul trouble early.

“There were some very timely fouls that dictated the flow of the game,” Klapperich said. “We struggle against extremely physical teams and (Crestwood) was able to take us out of our game by doing just that.”

CRESTWOOD 56, CHARLES CITY 53

Scoring By Quarters

Crestwood 14 16 11 15 — 56

Charles City 18 9 17 9 — 53

CRESTWOOD — Spencer Cuvelier 19, Kristian Szanja 2, Harry Kitchen 2, Colten Wily 3, Nathan Martinek 6, Alexander Kerian 9, Clayton Oilendieck 12, Jordan Girlamo 3.

CHARLES CITY — Jack Molstead 4, Hakeem Sharief 8, Mike Cranshaw 9, Noah Schlader 17, Cade Hemesath 11, Jaden Foster 2, Elliott Gebel 2.

OSAGE 67, CHARLES CITY 66

Scoring By Quarters

Osage 18 20 10 19 — 67

Charles City 16 18 19 13 — 66

OSAGE —Drew Olson 39, Brett Bobinet 3, Lucas Schwamman 9, Garrett Maakestad 2, Nathan Bushbaum 7, Benjamin Grimm 3, Kraig Heckstein 4.

CHARLES CITY — Jack Molstead 36, Hakeem Sharief 2, Mike Cranshaw 2, Noah Schlader 11, Cade Hemesath 7, Jaden Foster 6, Elliott Gebel 2.