LWK Tigercats basketball squad secures two league wins

The LWK Tigercats started off the league games on the right foot after earning two back-to-back wins against Southeast 1B teams last weekend.

The Tigercats defeated Tekoa-Oakesdale 58-30 on Friday night, before traveling to Richland Saturday and winning 71-53 against Liberty Christian.

The Tigercats did not have long to rest before taking the court again on Monday to battle against Walla Walla Valley Academy. The 2B team defeated the Tigercats in the nonleague competition, 60-55.

Going into the Friday game, head coach Mike Stubbs said the team had a decent idea of what to expect from Tekoa-Oakesdale.

While the TO team is fairly young and consists of smaller players, Stubbs said the team knew they had perimeter shooters capable of sinking three-point shots.

“We were bigger, longer, more physically mature than them and we pretty much ran our game,” Stubbs said. “Our length and our physicality really showed through on Friday night.”

The goal for the Tigercats during the game was to keep consistent defensive intensity and play as a cohesive unit.

Stubbs said overall he was very pleased with the defensive effort by the team.

On the other end of the court, the Tigercats were slow to get into the offensive rhythm and create consistency running the offense.

The Tigercats put up 29 points in the first half, with many of them coming off of breakaway points from multiple Tigercat athletes.

Stubbs explained the offense had trouble starting the offense sets as many of the athletes are still becoming accustomed to playing together.

“Each game you can see those young men are growing and recognizing what is going on. Their confidence and their ability to take in a situation is improving,” Stubbs said. “Every game you can see these kids are thinking less and reacting more. All you can hope for at this point is more natural movement, less thinking, and more athletic reaction.”

Darcy Stamper led the Tigercats offensively on Friday night with 26 points, followed by Joey Guske with 14 points. Riley Roberts had nine points, Graham BeDell contributed three points, and Brandon Bennett, Chance Rice and Jason Wigen all had two points.

The Tigercats matched up against Liberty Christian on Saturday night and the Patriots proved to be a tough competitor, especially in the first half. The Tigercats were unable to break away in scoring until the third quarter, and the first half proved to be a back-and-forth battle of the teams.

Stubbs explained the Patriots had recently lost their main player to an injury, and it didn’t take long for the Tigercats to realize Liberty Christian was missing their focal point. While their primary player was injured, Stubbs explained the team still as a strong collection of players that are ready to compete.

The first half proved to be a running game between the teams, with them remaining evenly matched until the Tigercats made adjustments and went into a box and one defense in the second half. The change proved to be the difference of the game, and with the help of outstanding defense by Stephen Erickson, the Tigercats gained control of the remainder of the game.

Stubbs said it was a collective defensive effort, with Erickson provided man coverage on the Patriots main shooter, and Roberts, Guske and Stamper collecting rebounds to prevent put-back points.

“To these boys’ credit, they have embraced the team cohesiveness; it’s all about team basketball,” Stubbs said. “They’ve won enough here very early in the season, they know that’s what it’s going to take.”

Guske led the team in scoring with 26 points, followed closely by Stamper with 25. Roberts added 10, Erickson had seven points, Bennett put up two points and Wigen sank one free throw.

The Tigercats returned to the court on Monday evening to face Walla Walla Valley Academy and Stubbs said the team suffered from the worst shooting night they’ve had all season. The Tigercats inability to get shots to fall coupled with WWVA being a strong shooting team led to a nonleague loss for the Tigercats.

The Tigercats trailed WWVA by 13 points at halftime and Stubbs said the team made adjustments to help close the gap in the second half. The Tigercats began getting in the offensive rhythm late in the game and the team’s efforts fell just short of earning a win.

“I’m extremely proud of my team and how they scraped and fought and stayed together,” Stubbs said. “They played as a team, and played until the very last buzzer.”

Stubbs said the team had another strong defensive night, especially after the team made adjustments to their zone in the second half.

While the zone left the Tigercats vulnerable in the key, Stubbs said WWVA’s perimeter shooting had posed the most issues for the Tigercats in the first half.

Roberts stepped up to lead the Tigercats on the defensive boards, while Guske and Stamper teamed up to lead the Tigercats offensively. Stamper ended the night with 27 points, while Guske and Roberts each had 12. Rice had four points.

The Tigercats move on to face St. John-Endicott and Touchet this weekend, and Stubbs said the team is focusing on rotations in the zone defense, while also scrimmaging in a man-to-man defense.

Offensively, Stubbs said the team is working on challenging each other every day in practice to ensure they are ready for game time.