Top-ranked Boyden-Hull holds off feisty Sibley-Ocheyedan rival

SIBLEY, Iowa -- The Sibley High School gymnasium was packed, coronavirus or bust, Friday night to see the powerful Boyden-Hull Comets take on the host Sibley-Ocheyedan Generals in a boys basketball test.

The Comets, ranked No. 1 in Class 2A in the state of Iowa, won the test.

For nearly three quarters, the game was close enough so that the Generals could hold onto some hope of pulling off an upset. They certainly didn’t back down at all, going toe-to-toe with the visitors in a point-blank, fast-paced affair. But Boyden-Hull (9-0) remained undefeated by pulling away from a four-point lead early in the third quarter to an 82-47 victory.

“We knew that we were going to have our hands full. They always play us tough here,” said B-H head coach Bill Francis.

Boyden-Hull, last year’s state champion, looked more than capable of a repeat performance Friday while fighting back the determined Generals. Senior Marcus Kelderman led the way with 26 points while teammates Tanner Te Slaa, with 15, and Bryan Zylstra, with 12, also scored in double figures. The Comets are deep, they move well on the court, they pass well, and they score easily from beyond the arc and inside the paint.

But Francis said his team wasn’t playing up to par in the first quarter. The Comets’ lead was only two points, 14-12, at the end of the frame, and 30-23 at halftime. Their lead was cut to 30-26 on Sibley-Ocheyedan’s first possession of the third quarter when Carter Brouwer, who led S-O scorers with 19 points, drained a 3-point shot.

“We struggled a little bit in the first half and didn’t really have a lot of movement,” Francis maintained.

At halftime, he said, the Comets were told that they needed to move the ball more. They were taking too many quick shot attempts.

Sibley-Ocheyedan fell to 5-5 with the setback. In the preliminary game, the S-O girls varsity defeated Boyden-Hull 48-32.

Francis said the Comet’s No. 1 ranking is a good motivating tool for his players, but they’re much more interested in winning another championship later in the season. It’s not every coach that gets to mentor a team like Boyden-Hull, which possesses speed, quickness, deft shooting touches, solid rebounders, and more.

“We work on all that stuff,” Francis said. “It’s not just luck.”