In basketball, a razor-thin margin can separate victory from defeat. A missed shot. A questionable foul call. Or just plain bad luck. The North Tama Redhawks have had mostly the latter in the earlygoing this season.

Following their 76-65 season-opening win against Belle Plaine, the Redhawks have dropped four contests in a row, with three of those contests coming in close games.

On December 3, the boys lost a tough road contest 53-55 against Colo-Nesco. Junior Paul Kaufmann scored a team-high 17 points and snagged five rebounds in the loss. Sophomore Logan Zobel scored 15, and sophomore Ben Panfil was a force to be reckoned with on the boards, leading the Redhawks with 13 rebounds.

The Redhawks dropped another close one on December 6, losing 58-64 at the hands of Don Bosco. A balanced scoring attack of four players in double figures wasn’t enough for North Tama. Senior Taylor Dinsdale scored 14 points with Kaufmann, Panfil and Zobel scoring 18, 16 and 10, respectively.

A slow start doomed North Tama on December 10 against Meskwaki, resulting in a 60-44 defeat. Meskwaki outscored North Tama 22-6 in the opening quarter.

Last Friday’s game presented a chance to snap the three-game skid, but the Redhawks were on the losing end after entering the game’s final minute with a tie.

Kaufmann recorded a double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Dinsdale added 15 points and eight boards.