Fifth in league, Tigercats continue to districts

The Tigercats finished regular season ranked fifth in the league, continuing the team’s basketball season for at least one more week. The Tigercats defeated the Tekoa-Oakesdale Nighthawks with a final score of 68-38, securing the Tigercats as the fifth place team.

Jed Zimmer again led the Tigercats in points, scoring a total of 13 during the game. Jake Aune scored 12 points while Justin Wargo had nine points.

The Tigercats played all of the varsity players on the roster during the game, allowing a lot of players to get some points in the scorebook. Alec Fleming scored eight points, while Joey Guske scored a career high of seven points. Guske is a sophomore and predominately played junior varsity this year.

Matt Stubbs put up five points, and Sam Harder and Austin Summers both scored four points. Jim Hopkins, Riley Roberts and Darcy Stamper all scored two points in the game.

“Darcy does a lot for us offensively, and for him to only score two points, but we finished with 68 points, says something. We moved the ball well, and all-in-all, I was very pleased,” said head coach Mike Jones. “We had good defense and we were active from the start and until the end of the game. It was good to see they were ready to go.”

After gaining a 41-14 lead at halftime, the Tigercats starting players had a chance to rest and allow other teammates to play.

“Roberts started late in the year but came out and played really well. Hopkins rebounded well and took good shots. Taylor Martin went in and worked hard. All of them did a good job for us and gave us the opportunity to rest some guys,” said Jones.

Saturday night the Tigercats faced Rosalia, but regardless the outcome of the game, the Tigercats had secured fifth place in league. The Tigercats lost to Rosalia with a final score of 48-68.

The Tigercats had three players in double digits: Aune with 14, Zimmer had 13 and Summers scored 10 points. Wargo sank a three point shot in the second quarter and hit two jump shots in the third quarter, giving him seven points.

Stamper scored his three points in the first quarter with a two-point shot and one free throw. Harder rounded out the score with a single free throw in the first quarter.

Even with the loss, the Tigercats face Pomeroy in the first district game on Thursday, Feb. 9, in Pomeroy at 6 p.m. The Tigercats play again on Saturday if they win, but if they lose, their next game is on the following Thursday.

“We’re looking forward to playing in districts. We match up well with Pomeroy, and we’re hoping it’s our time. They have younger kids that work hard and press consistently, but we do match up,” said Jones.

The Tigercats have lost both previous games against Pomeroy, once losing 60-69, and the next game lost 42-57. The second game against Pomeroy had been after a week of not practicing due to snow, and Jones is looking forward for the final match up versus Pomeroy.

“We’re excited to go down there and play. With tournaments, you never now what’s going to happen,” said Jones. “We’re not changing a lot. We’re planning on playing aggressive defense and causing turnovers, but our primary focus is rebounding.”

The Tigercats have not played in districts in over four years, as none of the boys currently on the team have ever played in a district game. With only two seniors on the team, Jones is excited that all of the players get to have the experience and learn from it.

“We have a lot of juniors and sophomores, so this is a good experience. It’s good for us, and good for the future,” said Jones.

“At this point in the year, we need to take advantage of opportunities. The kids are excited to play and excited to be in districts. I hope they execute how they have been in practice and in games over the last couple of weeks,” Jones said. “Once we get that consistency in the game, good things will happen.”