Monday, January 7, 2013

Tiger Boys Improve But Fall to North Andrew in Rematch

Worth County’s boys played better than the first time they played North Andrew, but they still made too many mistakes and lost 57-42 in the first round of the Stanberry Tournament.

On the plus side, Truman Moore set a career high with six points; he moved around much better on offense and kept some possessions alive with some offensive rebounds. Cole Parman scored eight as he continued his pattern of getting 6-8 points a game for the Tigers. Brevyn Ross matched his career high against Gallatin, scoring 17 points in the loss. Bryce Ross had 11.

The Tiger boys have been trying to find five players who can score and they took a step in the right direction Monday night. The goal will be to find a fifth player who can establish himself as a scoring threat.
On another positive note, Worth County made a game out of it twice after digging themselves into big holes and fought right back.

But they struggled on the boards against the taller North Andrew squad and they struggled with getting back on defense in the first quarter as they dug themselves into an 18-6 hole after one quarter, too big for them to overcome. Coach Chris Healy burned two timeouts in the period to try and stop the bleeding, but they were not on the same page on offense and they were getting outworked on defense, meaning that they were not getting as many close calls as North Andrew was from the officials. Bryce Ross had a pullup and a pair of free throws and Truman Moore had a putback for Worth County’s only tallies of the period.

But then Bryce Ross got a drive and pullup and Truman Moore got a pair of putbacks to cut it to 22-12, forcing North Andrew to use a timeout. At that point, Bryce Ross and Truman Moore had six each, accounting for all of Worth County’s points. Brevyn Ross got on the scoreboard, getting a pair of pullups and Bryce Ross scored another to cut it to 24-18.

But then nobody got back on defense and North Andrew’s Jeremiah Libich got behind the defense for a layup to spark a 6-0 run from North Andrew. The Tigers showed that they are still searching for consistency; they threw a crazy pass and people were walking down the court instead of running the floor as North Andrew converted it into a layup. Another steal made it 30-18 at the half.

Worth County had switched to a zone in the second period to slow down North Andrew’s inside game, but the Cardinals hit three quick 3-pointers to start the third, two from Nate Atkins and one from Bryar Moppin as they took their biggest lead of the game at 41-18 and forced Worth County out of their zone. But then Brevyn Ross scored seven straight points to get Worth County right back in it; he got a pair of drives, one of which he converted into a 3-point play. He also got a steal to make it 41-25. But then North Andrew stopped the run as Worth County tried for a pick and roll that was not there.

North Andrew worked the ball to Libich in the short corner twice to start the fourth and the Cardinals once again pushed it over 20 at 47-25. But then Brevyn Ross hit a drive in traffic and Cole Parman got on the board for the Tigers with a 3-pointer; he showed the ability to score in bunches as he scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter. Bryce Ross followed with a pullup and a fast break bucket and Worth County was back within 14 at 47-33. But then consecutive steals by North Andrew as they jumped consecutive passes sealed it as they went back up 51-33 with too little time remaining.

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