Tigercats undefeated at Dayton tournament

The LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Tigercats continued their winning season during the Dayton Tournament on Dec. 27-28. The Tigercats faced Dayton and Elgin during the tournament, and added two wins to this season’s flawless record of 9-0.

During the first day of the tournament, the Tigercats earned a 51-19 win over Dayton. Head coach Mike Jones explained both teams had a slow start as at the end of the first quarter, the Tigercats had a 6-2 lead.

Alec Fleming and Darcy Stamper stepped up in the second quarter to score five points each and help move the Tigercats forward to a 16-2 lead at halftime. The Tigercats were able to force turnovers in the second quarter and capitalize by scoring on fast breaks.

Stamper ended the game as the leading scorer for the Tigercats with 15 points, closely followed by Justin Wargo with 12 points. Jed Zimmer scored eight points, Fleming had seven and Austin Summers had three points. Matt Stubbs, Joey Guske and Bo Rice all scored two points during the game.

“We rebounded the ball well and controlled the boards, which is always key for us,” Jones said. “I was pleased with the overall win, but ready to get back to the gym and into a routine.”

The Tigercats returned to the Dayton Tournament on Friday, Dec. 28, to battle against Elgin in an afternoon match up, and walked away with a 55-27 win. Jones said the opportunity to play a new school was good for the Tigercats as the team did not know what to prepare for and had to play solid basketball to win.

The Tigercats jumped out with an early lead, 22-4, in the first quarter. The Tigercats were four of four from the three-point line and played tough defense to limit Elgin’s shots.

Elgin was able to narrow the gap later in the game and came within eight points of the Tigercats, but the LWK team battled back to go on a 19-2 run in the fourth quarter.

“It wasn’t the prettiest performance, but we got a good look at some of our weaknesses and what we need to continue to work on as the season moves forward,” Jones explained.

Stamper stepped up to lead the scoring drive again with 17 points. Wargo ended the game with 11 points and Zimmer had 10 points.

Summers contributed seven points to the final score, while Guske had three points. Riley Roberts, Sam Harder and Stubbs each had two points, and Fleming ended the game with one point.

“All of our kids got into games and had the opportunity to contribute, and we were able to use different combinations and use kids in different situations,” Jones said about the tournament. “Both games ended up being 20 plus point games, but kids were put in different situations that will hopefully be beneficial as the season continues.”

The Tigercats now move forward to two tough league games this weekend against Colton and Garfield-Palouse. Colton is ranked second in the Southeast 1B league with an overall record of 7-2 and an undefeated record in league. Gar-Pal is ranked fourth with a league record of 4-1.

The Tigercats first match up against Colton is an away game on Friday evening, and play Gar-Pal on Saturday in Washtucna at 6:30 p.m.