Osceola Kowboys Hope to Defend OBC Hoops Crown

When the Orange Belt Conference (OBC) boys basketball tournament begins on Monday, the Harmony Longhorns (13-3) will be the top seed, but defending champion Osceola served notice on Tuesday night that they will not be giving up the title easily with a convincing 5237 win over Gateway.

The win by the young Kowboys, Osceola’s sixth in their last 10 games, pushed them to 8-11 on the year and avenged a 64-63 loss to the Panthers two weeks earlier. “We still have not played a complete game,” Kowboys coach Steve Mason said of his team that is starting three sophomores. “But I like our chemistry and I like the fact that we are getting better every game and getting better every week.”

Osceola, which has played an extremely difficult schedule this year, will be the number two seed and will host #7 St. Cloud on Monday night in the first round. Osceola will get an advanced look at the Bulldogs (7-9) when they face St. Cloud in a regular season game today (1/18).

Tuesday’s game started off slowly for the Kowboys as nine quick points by Gateway’s Victor Prada and five from Dashawn Williamson allowed the Panthers to build early leads of 7-2 and 16-11. But Osceola rallied back and long three-point bomb by Jordan Mundle at the buzzer tied the game at 16-16 after one.

Both teams struggled to score in the second period, but Osceola got a three-pointer late in the period from Steven Bennett to take a 26-23 lead at intermission. The third quarter belonged to Osceola and sophomore standout Alex Springs. Hitting a variety of driving shots, Springs scored 13 of his game-high 22 points in the period as the Kowboys began to pull away 43-34.

“He (Springs) is going to be special,” Mason said. “He has a unique ability to drive the lane and get his shot off at different angles while going full speed. Alex is getting better and better every game.”