Bobcats undefeated after St. Regis rivalry game

SUPERIOR – A victory against the St. Regis Tigers last week was key in bringing the Superior Bobcats to their first undefeated season in approximately 50 years.

In their game against the Tigers, the Bobcats opened with a pair of quick two-point shots. The first quarter was close but ended with the Bobcats well on their way to a strong lead. Through a series of three-pointers, courtesy of St. Regis freshman Trevor Lowry, the Tigers were able to keep up.

At one point, St. Regis junior Dakota Wickham got the ball and was able to squeeze through a gap in the Superior guards. He raced the ball around to senior Keenan Clute who brought in two points.

Wickham was also instrumental in one of Lowry’s three pointers. He got the ball and edged around the Superior guards. He shot it to Clute who, after being surrounded by the Superior defense, made a pass to Lowry who took the shot.

Superior senior Jarrod Tippens was one of the top scorers of the quarter. During one play, he took a shot, which bounced off the rim. He caught the rebound and tried again for a basket but it bounced back again. Tippens tried two more times before getting a foul where he brought in two free throws.

The fast paced game had several back and forth plays where the ball became hard to track. The first quarter ended with Superior in the lead and a score of 21-13.

The second quarter saw the Bobcats come out and lay into St. Regis with their guards. Superior quickly began to pull ahead as they continued to use their height and speed to their advantage.

Most of the quarter’s points for St. Regis came from free throws. During one, something different happened. As eighth grader Triston Carman prepared for his free throws, the Superior Pep Band was warming up for half time. One of the horns sounded as Carman took his shot, causing the referee to chastise the musician and give the St. Regis player another try. The end of the first half saw the Bobcats pull ahead with a score of 45-20.

After halftime, the Bobcats had not lost any of their momentum. They continued to press the attack as they overwhelmed their rival team. The Superior boys were strong across the board and had good defensive and offensive plays. Tippens with fellow senior Tanner Smith as well as juniors Josh Benda and Luke Boyce brought in enough points to raise Superior’s total by 20.

While they fought hard, the St. Regis players could not break through the Bobcat’s defense and only made one basket. The third quarter ended with a score of 69-22 in Superior’s favor.

The fourth quarter saw the Tigers rally and come back from behind. Eighth grader Brandon Managhan led the team’s cavalry charge as he brought in nine points with a series of three-point shots. The guys were able to pull back from behind and made themselves a threat again.

The quarter was an intense battle of three-point shots as both teams pushed for last minute points. As the buzzer sounded Superior claimed victory with a final score of 80-38.

The game was a team effort for St. Regis. Lowry was the star of the night as he brought in 14 points. Managhan was right behind him as he contributed 11 points of his own. The rest of the points were split among the other members of the team.

According to Head Coach Taylor Nordby, the guys had trouble holding the ball. He also said the younger players ran the game as the juniors and seniors collectively contributed eight points throughout the match.

He said the team got sloppy after the first quarter. This eventually caught up with them as Superior pulled ahead to gain such a big win.

When the Tigers played against Hot Springs on Tuesday, Feb. 11, they came away with a loss. The guys ended the game with a final score of 33-74.

In the first quarter the guys came out on fire. They fought hard and kept close to the Savage Heat on the scoreboard. The second quarter saw the home team give a strong defensive push and begin to pull ahead of the Tigers. While they fought hard, the Tigers were unable to prevent Hot Springs from building a stronger lead.

As the teams came back from halftime, the Savage Heat hit the ground running and broke the St. Regis defensive line. After the hard third quarter, the Tigers were able to come back and begin to recover. The team lay on defensive pressure and pushed the Hot Springs players back from the net.

The freshmen and eighth grade players had especially strong games as Managhan brought in a team best 13 points. The Lowry brothers were also strong players as senior Gibson brought in six and Trevor made five.

Nordby said the team had issues with playing sloppy in this game as well. While the team ended the first half in a strong place, the coach felt things went wrong in the second half as the team gave up 27 points in the third quarter.

“It really fell apart from there,” Nordby said.

In their final game of the season, the Bobcats played against the Noxon Red Devils. After an aggressive game where the referees had their patience tried, Superior came out on top with a victory of 61-35. This led to the Bobcats having an undefeated season.

The Bobcats came out strong and built an initial lead. They almost made it through the first quarter unopposed before Noxon got on the board. In the second quarter both teams got into their stride and played aggressively. Once again, Tippens was one of the best scorers as he consistently brought in two point shots.

While the players were aggressive, the spectators brought aggression of a different sort. On numerous occasions the crowd yelled out to the referees about their calls. Eventually, the refs had one group of kids kicked out for their comments. Noxon Head Coach Mike Tessier was at risk of being a second casualty as he kept questioning calls through the rest of the game.

The third quarter was the round of free throws as both teams played harder than ever and caused fouls almost every time the ball was shot. The final quarter of the regular season was an intense push for more points. The game was a team effort and relied on everyone working together.

According to Head Coach Chris Toivenen, the game was not as smooth as he would have liked. While the numerous errors were a problem, the team got the job done. The coach said the Bobcat’s defense was strong and the game was a picture of the story all season.

“One way or another we get the job done,” Toivenen said.

Toivenen was impressed by the team’s winning streak. He said it was hard to maintain any streak, let alone having one all season. He encouraged the team to enjoy it tonight but remember everything was set to zero this week.

Toivenen did not want them to overdo the celebrations. He said they should remember they still had to play the final tournaments.

In practice this week, the team has been working on a little of everything. Toivenen noted the guys had some trouble with rebounds and felt it would be a good area to work on. With districts around the corner he felt it was important to keep everything polished.

Next week both teams go on to the district tournament in Ronan. The Tiger’s coach felt the first game would be tough. He also said the team should do well if they made it through.

“I’m optimistic about the second game,” said Nordby. “Assuming we go against Two Eagle again.”

After a two-point loss in a game two weeks ago, Nordby was confident the team would have a good game if they went up against Two Eagle River again. He was looking forward to this week and had a positive attitude about how the team did this season.

“The future is bright in St. Regis,” Nordby said.

The Bobcat’s first game of districts will be against either the Hot Springs Savage Heat or Noxon Red Devils. The two teams play each other on Thursday, Feb. 20, where the winner will go against Superior on Friday, Feb. 21.