Tigercats 3-3 on the season, split pair tough games

The LaCrosse-Washtucna Tigercats basketball team had two close games within the last week, walking away with one win and one loss.

The Tigercats played Pomeroy on Friday, Dec. 16, and lost the game with a close score of 60-69. Jed Zimmer led the team with 17 points while Darcy Stamper put up 15 points for the Tigercats.

Other scorers for the Tigercats were Austin Summers with 10 points, Jake Aune with nine, Sam Harder with six points, Justin Wargo with two and Matt Stubbs with one point.

“I’m proud of the kids. We were down by 13 at one point during the game and they came back to take the lead. We just had open shots that didn’t convert,” said Coach Mike Jones.

The Pomeroy game was physical and there were a lot of fouls on both teams, Jones commented, and wants to work on playing physical defensive with less fouls. The Tigercats only shot about 30 percent on the night, but outrebounded Pomeroy by six rebounds.

The next night the Tigercats battled against Touchet and gained a win of 57-48. Zimmer had an impressive 25 points on the night.

Stamper had 14 points on the game even though he fouled out during the third quarter. Harder ended with nine points, Alec Fleming had five, and Summers and Stubbs finished the night with two points each.

“Jed Zimmer had a really good game, we definitely had a height advantage,” said Jones. “Touchet plays a different style of basketball, we felt really good about going down there and getting the win.”

Both Touchet and the Tigercats had the same shooting percentage and both had a significant amount of turnovers. The Tigercats are focusing on better ball handling and boxing out in order to get more rebounds.

The Tigercats are now 3-3 for the season and hope to win against Tri-Cities Prep on Wednesday, Dec. 21 during the second matchup of the two teams. The Tigercats lost at home to TCP on Dec. 13 by nine points.

Jones believes it will be an even match if the Tigercats can control rebounds and limit turnovers. The last game the Tigercats feel behind and could not make up the point deficit.

“We’re working on not fouling so much, but it is good to see the kids being so aggressive and active. We need to be better on both offensive and defensive boards,” said Jones.

The Tigercats will have the rematch against TCP and will have a slight break for the holidays until the Dayton Tournament on Dec. 29.