Tigercats start season with a win

The LaCrosse-Washtucna/Kahlotus Tigercats went on the road for the first game of the basketball season, and returned home with a 52-45 win over Tri-Cities Prep. Mike Jones has returned as head coach for the boys’ team, and was excited to earn an opening season win.

“For the first game, the kids worked hard and played aggressive offense,” Jones said. “We shot about 37 percent for the game. We shot aggressively and took good, quality shots.”

Leading the Tigercats in scoring were Jed Zimmer with 15 points and Justin Wargo who posted 10 points for the team. Eight of Wargo’s points were earned in the first half, which helped the Tigercats maintain an early lead in the game.

Going into halftime, the Tigercats led by one point, 26-25, and had kept the lead throughout the entire first half. TCP came out with momentum to begin the second half, and went up by nine points over the Tigercats.

Midway through the third quarter, Joey Guske started the Tigercats scoring streak with a three-point shot. The Tigercats hit another shot and scooped up a TCP turnover to bring the intensity back to the team, but trailed by three points at the end of the third quarter.

“Over all, the effort was good for the first game,” Jones said. “Tri-Cities Prep is traditionally a good solid team. I feel good about the game, but we do have quite a bit to improve on. But it’s a good benchmark and baseline for the season.”

Jones explained when the Tigercats fell behind in the third quarter; the team was able to keep its composure because of the veteran experience of the athletes on the court. The varsity squad is comprised primarily of juniors and seniors, and Jones said it is this experience that helped them remain calm and make necessary corrections.

One of the aspects of the game that Jones was most excited about was having a good balance of scorers on the team. While Wargo and Zimmer led the team in points, Alec Fleming had nine points, Guske earned seven, and Darcy Stamper racked up six points.

The ability for multiple athletes to help balance the scoring has Jones excited for upcoming games as the team can rely on everyone to help score. Jones is moving the focus to reducing turnovers and rebounding, as those were the two weak spots for the Tigercats during Saturday’s game.

The Tigercats move on to face Tekoa-Oakesdale in Tekoa on Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by a home game in Washtucna at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday against Liberty Christian.

Liberty Christian is new to the league this year, and Jones does not know what to expect from the team on the court, but judging by the team’s successful football season, he is expecting a physical match up.

“The two games are very winnable, but present problems where our weaknesses are,” Jones said of the Tigercats game schedule.

Jones is looking forward to the team continuing to develop over the course of the season and believes the week end games will help the team discover areas of improvement for the remainder of the season. Jones said the week’s practice is focusing on rebounding and remaining defensively sound.