Tigers start strong, lose tough fight

Nick Ianniello

Mineral Independent

Despite a strong start against the Victor Pirates, the St. Regis Tigers lost a tough fought home game Friday night.

“We’ve played worse game and we’ve played better games but that’s the way basketball is, everything happens to you quick,” said Tigers Head Coach Dan Park.

The Tigers took control of the game early, taking a 7 – 2 lead for much of the first quarter. However, once the Pirates took control of the ball, they racked up another 14 points for a 16 – 7 lead in the first quarter.

“We were still getting good shots, but we just couldn’t get any to go in,” Park said about the team’s difficulty scoring Friday evening.

Tiger Jordan Hendrickson brought in all seven points for the Tigers in the first quarter.

Coming into the second quarter the Tigers had difficulty breaking the Pirates momentum and were outscored again 13 – 6.

Willy Roper, Zane Worrall and Hendrickson scored for the Tigers in the second quarter.

The third quarter continued to be a difficult time for the Tigers, with the Pirates outscoring them 17 – 7.

Roper and Hendrickson brought in all of the points for the Tigers in the third quarter.

The Tigers got a little more aggressive at the end of the game, only allowing the Pirates to outscore them 13 – 11.

Roper and Pat Quinlivan scored all of the 11 points for the Tigers in the fourth quarter.

Roper led the team in scoring with 13 points, followed closely by Hendrickson with 12 points. Quinlivan also scored four points while Worrall scored two points for the Tigers.

“Victor’s a good team and they’ve got a good record on their side. They’ve got height and they’ve got shooters and that’s the combination you need. They’re fast and athletic,” Park said about the competition.

Park said that one of the main difficulties for the Tigers Friday evening was their height. The pirates had a good matchup of taller and shorter players that could play strong offensively from both close to the goal and in the outside.

“We don’t really have a team that can stop both, it’s just a height issue,” Park said.

Park added that the team’s morale suffered a little after falling so far behind in the game.

“Once you get behind, of course the other team’s going to shoot better and you put more pressure on yourself so you shoot worse,”

With the regular season drawing to a close and district tournaments approaching, Park said that the seniors for the Tigers have had a tough season, but have played their hardest and he was really impressed with their athletic commitment.

“Those seniors have put a lot on the line in four years for not much reward, they’re great guys,” Park said.