Tigercats undefeated in league

The Tigercats faced two tough league rivals in a weekend’s match up but proved victorious to continue with an unblemished record. The Tigercats first earned a 64-54 win over St. John-Endicott on Friday before winning against Touchet, 57-39.

On Friday, the Tigercats found themselves in a close, fast-paced game against SJE. While the Tigercats had a severe height advantage, the Indians were a slightly quicker team.

“They did a good job of attacking us and some of our weaknesses,” head coach Mike Jones explained. “They had three good kids, all very athletic that shot the ball well and handled the ball well.”

The key for the Tigercats’ win lay with two athletes: Jed Zimmer and Justin Wargo. Between the two senior players, they accounted for 49 of the team’s 57 points.

“We wanted to attack inside and wear them down a little,” Jones said. “We attacked in the paint in the second half. Jed was the difference in that game with rebounds and collapsing the defense.”

The Tigercats struggled to match the Indians in quickness, and the Indians took advantage in the first half by beating the Tigercats’ defenders on the perimeter. Jones said the team is continuing to work on help-side defense to reduce the amount of lay-ins and eliminate points in the paint.

The Tigercats trailed going into halftime, 28-31, and made adjustments to eventually gain a three-point lead at the end of the third quarter. The game remained close until the final minutes of the game, when a SJE athlete received a technical foul and the momentum returned to the Tigercats team.

Zimmer controlled the boards, leading the Tigercats in rebounds and also in scoring with a total of 30 points. While Zimmer remained the consistent leader, when the Tigercats fell behind in the second half, Wargo stepped up to lead the team. Wargo earned a total of 19 points during the game, 18 of which were earned in the second half alone.

Darcy Stamper tacked on seven points to the Tigercats’ final score, Austin Summers and Alec Fleming both added three points, and Riley Roberts had two points. Both Summers and Fleming hit three-point shots in the first quarter to help give the Tigercats the early lead.

The Tigercats then continued on in the weekend competition to play Touchet in a tough fought battle. The Touchet defenders collapsed into the key to deny the inside pass to Zimmer, but the Tigercats adjusted and sank perimeter shots.

“All of their (Touchet) games have been close games, we knew it was going to be a physical game and difficult match up,” Jones said. “But it’s the kids’ solid senior leadership and the kids’ ability that can put together back-to-back tough games.”

The game remained close throughout the first half, and the Tigercats went into halftime with a 31-25 lead. The Tigercats did not significantly outscore the Indians until the fourth quarter, when the Tigercats stepped up their perimeter game.

“Our rotation was slow, and we seemed to be a step slow. We need to revisit and emphasis defensive rotation,” Jones said of the weekend’s games. “We’re looking to help-side and being active with our feet and with our hands.”

Stamper led the Tigercats with a total of 17 points, six of which came from three-point shots. Zimmer was held to only nine points on the night, but his highlight for the game was a one-handed dunk in the second quarter.

“Jed was playing good solid defense, and knocked it out on the pass,” Jones said of the play leading up to the breakaway dunk. “It was a good defensive effort by Jed to knock the ball away, and the result of a good hustle play. He was giving good effort on the defensive end, and he was rewarded.”

The Tigercats are able to rely on every athlete to contribute points, and Jones said balanced scoring and rebounds are the keys to the game. Wargo continued to be an offensive leader with 10 points, while Fleming tacked on nine points for the Tigercats.

Summers scored six points for the Tigercats, Sam Harder had four and Matt Stubbs scored one point to help the team earn the 57-39 win.

The Tigercats move on to face Rosalia in a league game on Friday in Rosalia and Tri-Cities Prep in a non-league match up on Saturday in LaCrosse. Jones expects the Rosalia game to be a very aggressive and close game.

“It’s going to be a pretty physical game,” Jones said. “If we give a good defensive effort and rebound effectively, we’ll be okay.”