Tigers stay dedicated to defense, beat B-W
Defense and discipline were the difference as the New Richmond boys basketball team was able to defeat Baldwin-Woodville by a 55-42 final score last Tuesday.By: Dave Newman, New Richmond News
- Riley Kannel
Defense and discipline were the difference as the New Richmond boys basketball team was able to defeat Baldwin-Woodville by a 55-42 final score last Tuesday.
With the win the Tigers remain in second place in the Middle Border Conference standings with a 3-1 record.
Tuesday’s game was closer than the final score would lead you to believe. B-W led for much of the first half, due to the fast start of Cody Ninneman. He scored 10 points in the first half as the Blackhawks built a 19-14 lead early in the second quarter.
That’s when the Tigers turned up their defensive intensity. The Tigers went on a 7-0 run and held the Blackhawks scoreless for more than four minutes. By halftime the Tigers had taken a 23-22 lead.
The game remained close throughout the third quarter. The Tigers made a run late in the quarter, on two hoops from Derek Sabby and a three-pointer from Riley Kannel. At the end of the quarter the Tigers led 41-38.
The game-long discipline on defense shown by the Tigers paid off in the fourth quarter. The Blackhawks started the quarter with 10 fouls and the Tigers spent most of the quarter shooting free throws.
The Tigers scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter to build a 49-38 lead. The defense remained strong through the end of the game, with the Tigers holding B-W to four points in the fourth quarter.
B-W was called for 24 fouls in the game, compared to 11 called against the Tigers. While the Blackhawk players and coaches didn’t like the foul discrepancy, Tiger coach Rick Montreal said the low foul total was the team’s plan.
“We have made such a conscious effort to stop sending teams to the free throw line,” Montreal said. “Our defense is really what saved us.”
Montreal said one of the differences in the game came when the Tigers decided to pound the ball into their post players in the second half. Sabby and Michael Jansen combined for 16 points in the second half and drew a number of fouls against the Blackhawk defenders.
“Our bigs (post players) did the bulk of the damage on the offensive end and our guards did a lot of the work on the defensive end,” Montreal said.
Sabby finished with 20 points and led the Tigers with seven rebounds. Lance Bauer and Jared Kidder each contributed five rebounds. Sabby currently leads the conference in scoring and rebounding.
Montreal said one of the biggest shots in the game for the Tigers was Kannel’s three-pointer late in the third quarter. His shot broke a 36-36 tie. The shot came following an extended timeout after one of the officials was injured. Montreal was able to diagram the play in the huddle to set up the shot for Kannel, who is one of three sophomores in the regular rotation on the varsity team.
The Tigers complete a 10-day break when they play at home this Friday against Prescott. The Tigers have a road game scheduled next Tuesday, at Ellsworth.
Tags: sports, basketball, boys
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