Tiger Boys Accomplishments Included Northwest Missouri Tournament Title, 15 Wins

Worth County’s boys had an up and down season come to an end Saturday as they fell 71-53 to St. Joseph Christian in the first round of districts Saturday. But during the season, the Tigers showed growth and development throughout the season, winning 15 games and winning the Northwest Missouri Tournament. They had won 12 games the year before.

They had their peaks and valleys throughout the year. First, they beat Stanberry and King City, scoring 36 points in the second quarter to put them away before falling to a well oiled Princeton machine for the Albany Tournament title for their second.

Worth County traded wins and losses over the next few games; they beat Northeast Nodaway, which has 17 wins and counting as of Saturday, by 24. They fell to powerhouse Mound City, but they played a good game before they fell. Nodaway-Holt showed a lot of improvement this year, and played well in spurts against the Tigers, but they had no trouble with the Trojans, beating them by 33. Then, they played a good game against another powerhouse in North Andrew, but came up seven points short. December ended on a high note as they beat Christian 57-54 and a ranked Mount Ayr squad 70-67.

Worth Count hit a low note to start the year as they fell to Stanberry, picked up a forfeit win over Mercer, then dropped heartbreakers to Platte Valley and Lafayette JV, the latter game in six overtimes. They beat Albany, but they had a forgettable trip to Pattonsburg, falling 74-56.

But then they hit a high note, winning seven of their next eight games. They beat North Nodaway by 30, surprised West Nodaway and completely outworked and outplayed them, winning by ten. Then, against heavily favored Northland Christian, they only needed one overtime to beat them and claim the Northwest Missouri Tournament title.

The rest of the stretch was tough sledding, but Worth County got the job done. A pesky King City squad which was much better than the team that showed up in December came to town and they had their chances, but Worth County came out on top by eight. The one loss during that stretch was against Princeton, as their experience told in that game. A much improved North Nodaway squad put up a good fight before falling by 22.

Worth County played its most complete game of the year at North Harrison, winning 74-58. They showed what they are capable of becoming, as they had five players in double figures as they beat the Shamrocks and kept them from getting one of their big offensive explosions. In addition, their lone senior, Reid Gabriel, came off the bench and hit a big three to quash North Harrison’s rally at the end of the third quarter that nearly brought them back into the game. All five of the players who got in double figures will return next year as the Tigers will seek continued improvement.

Worth County honored their lone senior, Reid Gabriel, and honored Alex Rinehart for scoring his 1000th point as Worth County held off a late Maysville rally to win 55-46. Two other Tigers, Aydan Gladstone and Jackson Runde, are not far behind; they have started all three years for the Tigers.

Two other players, Grant Cameron and Tyler New, showed improvement over the course of the year. By the end of the year, Grant was scoring in double figures sometimes and his energy and effort helped create a lot of enemy turnovers and get teams out of their rhythm. Tyler New was the same way, which earned him a starting role as a freshman midway through the year. Jackson Smith showed defense and rebounding for the Tigers and could pop an occasional three.

The difference between the Lions and the Tigers was that Christian has five different players on the floor who are a threat to score. Carson Bowman hurt the Tigers inside in December; Landon Swavey hurt the Tigers both with his drive and with his shot Saturday. Camden Lutz hurt the Tigers from deep after they started keying on Swavey, and both Brad Boyd and Caleb Carlson were clutch for the Lions in the fourth quarter. The challenge for Worth County will be to develop depth, and to build on games like the North Harrison game, in which all five people were a threat to score.

Worth County took an early 13-6 lead in the Christian game, but then the Lions took advantage of their offensive efficiency and their size, collecting 17 offensive boards for the game. Once Worth County started keying on Swavey, that opened the floodgates for Lutz, who at 6’3” was very hard to guard from outside, hitting 3-pointers and shooting the Lions into the lead at 28-21. Worth County cut the lead to 32-27 at the half, but then four different Lions got in the scoring column as they led by as much as 43-29 in the third.

Worth County nearly saved the game as Aydan Gladstone and Alex Rinehart both got the hot hand, getting to the rim as they tied it up at 47 late in the third. They showed the kind of play on offense they are capable of as Jackson Runde chipped in with a 3-pointer, Tyler New got loose in transition twice, and Grant Cameron showed the kind of disruptive play on defense that made him one of the most improved players for the Tigers this year. 

But then Bowman converted a three point play at the end of the quarter to put Christian up for good, Lutz hit a 3-pointer at the start of the fourth, and then Rinehart picked up his fifth foul. Worth County had to start fouling, and the Lions were 10 for 12 in the last 3:10 as they pulled away for the 17 point win.

Aydan Gladstone had 15 points and 9 assists for the Tigers. He’ll have the chance to rewrite the assist recordbook by the end of his career, as he regularly got close to double figures in that category. Jackson Runde had 14 points and 12 boards, Alex Rinehart 12, and Tyler New and Grant Cameron 6 each.