LWK Tigercats’ hoop season ends with loss at district tournament

The LWK Tigercats achieved their season goal of competing in the Southeast 1B district contest, but the season came to a close after suffering two losses. The Tigercats battled on the hardwood throughout the season and went into the district competition as the sixth ranked team.

The team went on the road to face Colton on their home court on Thursday, Feb. 13, and faced a substantial loss to Wildcats. Along with the 71-25 loss to Colton, the Tigercats also lost senior athlete Darcy Stamper in the second quarter after suffering a season-ending injury.

The main focus of the team prior to the game was to contain Dalton Patchen and Jake Straughn, the Wildcats’ two leading scorers.

Head coach Mike Stubbs said the team had prepared in practice to meet up against the league rivals, and things appeared to be falling into place prior to the contest.

“There were things we’d talked about and things we wanted to accomplish, and we showed up and Straughn was hurt,” Stubbs said.

Stubbs said the game started out rough for the LWK team, who seemed to be a step slow against the Wildcats. Patchen led the Colton team offensively by remaining active throughout the game and causing problems for the Tigercat defense.

With the Colton team moving the ball well and hitting shots with consistency, the Tigercats watched the game slip away when Colton jumped out to a 21-7 lead at the end of the first. The Tigercats were unable to regain focus and compete with the Wildcats, and remained in single digit scoring per quarter throughout the night.

During the second quarter, the Tigercats’ leading scorer, Stamper, suffered an injury to his hand. Stubbs said it was immediately evident he was seriously injured with the look of anguish on his face, and Stamper left the game to go to the hospital. He broke a bone in his hand and had surgery on Tuesday to fix the broken bone.

Stubbs said overall the Tigercats did not have a good game, and while the loss of Stamper affected the team, it was not the sole reason for the defeat. The Colton team continued to play with energy that outmatched the Tigercats’ and sent the LWK team home with the first loss of the district tournament.

Riley Roberts led the LWK team in scoring with eight points. Joey Guske and Cole Evans each added five points. Stamper had three. Jason Wigen had two points, while Graham BeDell and Brandon Bennett made one point each.

After three days rest, the Tigercats returned to the court for practice on Monday to prepare for the Tuesday match up against Rosalia.

“Yesterday we talked about double-teaming (Craig) Nelson and limiting his touches. Tonight that was our main emphasis,” Stubbs said Tuesday.

The plan fell short when Nelson ran away from the Tigercat defense and put up a season high 47 points on the scoreboard. Stubbs said Nelson scored multiple times on breakaway points, and when Nelson goes on run outs in the open court, he is nearly unstoppable.

The Tigercats suffered from the same plague they had faced in the previous district game with being a flat-footed and a step behind the Rosalia team. While Nelson dominated the court in the short game, he also sank three-point shots, keeping the Tigercats team off balance.

After the first buzzer sounded, the Tigercats trailed 24-9 and came to the bench to hear a stern speech from Stubbs. The talk provided needed motivation for multiple Tigercat athletes, who slowly chipped away at the Rosalia lead.

The Tigercats outscored the Spartans in the second and third quarters, bringing the score to 54-48 in favor of Rosalia going into the final quarter of the game. Stubbs said that while the effort was there from the Tigercats, the team simply ran out of energy in the fourth quarter after battling so hard to narrow the gap.

Stubbs said the Tigercats relied heavily on Roberts to help them put up points and he dominated the paint. Stubbs estimated Roberts collected 20 rebounds for the Tigercats and gave it his all in the final game of his high school career.

The Tigercats had three athletes step up to add points to the scoreboard, being led by senior Roberts with 24 points. Guske ended the night with 19 points, and Chance Rice scored a season high of 13. BeDell added four points, Stephen Erickson had two, and Bo Rice hit one free throw.

The final game of the Tigercats’ season ended with a 79-63 loss to the Spartans.

While the team had rocky season, plagued with injuries and losses, Stubbs said the Tigercats celebrated two huge league wins and also achieved the goal of playing in districts. Stubbs said the Tigercats grew athletically, while he grew professionally as a head coach, throughout the course of the season.

Stubbs said he is grateful for the opportunity to serve as the head coach for the team, while being assisted by Tim Stamper and Seth Weekes, Jr., who truly helped make the season a success. Stubbs expressed his thankfulness for support from all three communities involved with the team and looks forward to showing his appreciation during the sports banquet next week.

“I hope the boys, for the most part, enjoyed themselves,” Stubbs said. “I hoped they learned some things over and above basketball; I hope they learned some things about life, and some things about being young men.”