From Deseret News archives:
High school boys basketball: Osterloh helps Eagles stay unbeaten
None, however, were as sweet as Friday night's 62-50 win over rival Olympus. It had been 10 years since the Eagles had won on the Titans' home floor, and Skyline did it convincingly to improve to 7-0 on the season.
"It's a good one," said Skyline's Ryan Osterloh. "It's a big rivalry. It felt good. It was the first time we won here in 10 years, and our coach kind of drilled that in our head this week during our preparation. We were thinking about that a lot, just coming into their house and taking it to them."
Osterloh certainly got the message, as he paced the Eagles with a game-high 23 points. Knowing that Olympus is extremely difficult to beat on its home floor, Osterloh took it upon himself to get Skyline off to a good start. He scored 10 points in the first quarter to help the Eagles to a 13-9 lead after one period.
"I was getting some good passes from my teammates," Osterloh said. "Kevin (Wagstaff) was really looking for me inside, and made some passes I didn't think he was going to make. Overall, everyone else was just kind of getting me open and it got me off to a good start."
Modest words from the star of the night, but Osterloh had to to take some credit for helping Skyline pull away.
After Olympus' Spencer Hille made a 3-pointer to give the Titans a rare lead at 19-18, Skyline took control. The Eagles went on a 12-2 run in the final four minutes of the first half. Osterloh hit a 3-pointer to put Skyline up 28-21, then scored on a breakaway dunk to give the Eagles a commanding lead.
Everything about how the Eagles play is done as a team, but Skyline is realizing it has a go-to guy in Osterloh.
"We're coming to depend on him," said Skyline coach Derek Bunting. "We're starting to expect that type of game from him every night. So far he hasn't disappointed. He's having a great year, and hopefully he'll continue that."
Skyline had to survive one Olympus threat in the second half to pull out the victory. The Titans got within five to close the third quarter. But Jake Osterloh converted a three-point play to start the fourth for the Eagles, and then Ryan Osterloh made two foul shots and scored on a layup following a brilliant back-cut to give Skyline a 47-37 lead with 5:30 remaining.
Wagstaff scored 16 points for the Eagles, and Jake Osterloh hit double figures with 11 points.
The Eagles are building an impressive resume this preseason. They defeated No. 1-ranked West Jordan earlier this week, and also own quality victories over Mountain Crest and Highland. Knowing how tough the Titans are at Olympus, Friday night's win ranks with the best for Skyline this season.
"It's never easy playing in this gym," Bunting said. "We feel real fortunate to come out of here with a win. Olympus — they battle, especially on their home floor. It was a physical game. We had to step up to the challenge, and our kids did."
E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com
