Osbourn Claims District Title

The stage was set Friday evening at Osbourn High School for one team to walk away crowned the Cedar Run District champions. The two teams squaring off were the host, the Osbourn Eagles and the Battlefield Bobcats.

It was a high intensity, fast paced game that kept the fans excited from the opening tip. Both teams played hard and it was obvious that each squad wanted the trophy as much as the other one did. In the end, though, it was Osbourn that ran away with a  74-58 victory, claiming the district championship trophy.

In the first quarter, both teams came out with great intensity that would never diminish as the game went on. The teams were going all out on both sides of the court, attempting to create open shots on offense while also playing relentless defense. The Eagles and Bobcats were tightly matched through the first quarter as Osbourn took an 18-14 lead as the first period ended.

In the second quarter, it seemed as though the intensity continued to rise. It was obvious that the players were getting winded, but they showed no signs of slowing down. Both teams knew what was on the line and they were going to do whatever they had to do to get the trophy.

Both teams had solid offensive outputs in the second quarter. For Battlefield it was getting some key three-pointers to drop, while Osbourn used great ball movement to create open shots.

The Eagles got big first half performances from both Jahaan Roberson and Jay Lane, who helped the team earne a 40-33 lead heading into the half.

In the third quarter, not much changed. Both teams were still playing with the same intensity and the fans were starting to get hyped up as they knew there was only one half of basketball left to determine who would hoist the trophy.

The Eagles continued to do a great job of moving without the ball and it seemed as though they were always finding a wide open man close to the basket for an easy two points. 

Battlefield was having trouble scoring inside because of the presence of Osbourn center, Izzy Freeman who blocked 7 shots in the game. As a result, the Bobcats had to settle for a lot of outside jumpers, which they were able to connect on enough to keep the score close.

At the end of a hard-fought third quarter, Osbourn led 57-48.

Trailing by 9 at the start of the fourth, Battlefield knew that they were going to have to find an extra gear if they wanted to win the game. The Bobcats fought with everything they had, but Osbourn was just too much.

The Eagles got big-time performances from multiple players, which is what makes them so tough to beat. On a night when star center Izzy Freeman did not have one of his better games, Jahaan Roberson, Jay Lane, Cedric Delaney, and some other Osbourn players picked up the slack and led the Eagles to victory.

It was Freeman, though, that ignited the crowd with a big hustle play at the one-minute mark in the fourth quarter. Izzy dove into the Battlefield bench chasing after a loose ball, hitting his head on the bleachers in the process.

A shaken Freeman climbed to his feet and sprinted back to the paint to block the shot of a Battlefield player. The crowd erupted as Freeman left the court to get checked out and rest for the remainder of the game.

After a tough game in which both teams showed a lot of fight, Osbourn rose to the occasion and topped Battlefield 74-58 for the district title. The leading performers were:

Jay Lane with 19 points (game high), 5 assists, and 4 steals

Jahaan Roberson with 18 points and 14 rebounds

Cedric Delaney with 13 points and 5 assists

Robert Carter with 10 points and 5 assists

Battlefield was led by Troy Allaire who scored 15 points. After the game, Osbourn gathered at mid-court to hoist the trophy while smiling for pictures.

The Eagles made the community extremely proud and they will be looking to carry their momentum into the regional tournament.

Osbourn who is 22-1 overall on the season, will be looking to advance further as they host Stafford in the regional quarterfinals on Tuesday night.