Tiger boys basketball withstands Amery's defensive approach

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Amery tried to do it with defense.

No team has been able to stop the New Richmond boys basketball team thus far in the 2010-11 season. So when the Tigers went to Amery last Friday, they met a Warrior team that was going to try to force the Tigers to slow down their attack. The idea worked to a degree. The Tigers won, but they had their lowest point total in more than a month in the 40-34 win over the Warriors.

Tiger coach Rick Montreal said he was glad Amery wasn’t a more evolved offensive team, because the Warriors’ defense took the Tigers out of their routine.

“It served as a learning opportunity. We have to be sure we’re mentally ready for every game,” Montreal said. “Amery played an extremely good defensive game.”

Amery led 13-12 after the first quarter. But when it comes to defense, few teams can match the Tigers and they proved that over the rest of the game. Amery didn’t get a field goal in the second quarter. Or the third quarter. And it wasn’t until less than six minutes were left in the fourth quarter that Amery got another field goal.

By then the Tigers had built a double-digit lead. Amery scored eight points in the final minute against the Tiger reserves to cut the final margin back to six points.

Riley Kannel led the Tigers with 12 points, as the team ran its season record to 11-0. Dalton Sabby played one of his best games, contributing nine points and three steals. Justice Harvieux’s contribution included seven rebounds and four assists.

Last Tuesday the Tigers went to Spooner to face the Rails in a non-conference game. The Rails had cooled off considerably since their 4-0 start to the season and the Tigers continued that cold front, beating Spooner 69-48.

The Rails have several tall players and there were some concerns that this might cause the Tigers some problems. The score was tied 8-8 after a quarter, but the Tigers figured everything out in the second quarter. By halftime the New Richmond lead was built up to 25-13 and it stood at 48-29 after three quarters.

In those middle quarters the Tigers’ trapping defense had a huge effect. Kannel stole the ball five teams, with each of them seeming to end with a left-handed layup to complete a fastbreak. Kannel finished the game with a team-high 21 points.

Darren O’Flanagan scored 11 points, but his biggest impact was on defense. He held Spooner’s second leading scorer without a point. Cody Taubman contributed five rebounds, three assists and three steals and John Hansen came off the bench to score eight points.

The Tigers now have a week between games to tool up for the second half of the season. The Tigers finish their first half of the Middle Border Conference schedule next Tuesday, when they play at Durand.

Tags: boys basketball, sports, tigers, prep