Tonasket senior Jeramy Dellinger jumps to make a shot over Joe Harris, a junior from Chelan, on Saturday, Jan. 31 Tonasket lost 81-42.Photo by Terry Mills

TONASKET – The Tonasket boys basketball team improved their performances against Lake Roosevelt and Chelan last week.

On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the Tigers traveled to Grand Coulee, where they lost 46-34.

“It was a really good game,” Glenn Braman, head coach, said. “We were ahead by one at half-time. Then we were down by four at the beginning of the fourth quarter and down by two with three minutes left, but the game got away from us at the end.”

He added that this was an improvement over Tonasket’s previous game against Lake Roosevelt, on Jan. 13, when they lost 66-39.

“This was a huge improvement and over at their place, which is a tough gym to play in,” he said.

Senior Michael Hulse led the team in scoring with nine points while sophomore Corbin Moser and senior Jeramy Dellinger each had seven points. Dellinger led in total rebounds with eight and assists with three. Sophomore Colton Ayers also had three assts and Moser had two steals.

Braman said the first half was the highlight of the game.

“In the first half we were able to control the tempo of the game, use a more deliberate offense and got some really good looks at shots,” he added. “Defensively, holding them to 46 points was a highlight, too. We played probably our best defensive game of the year.”

On Saturday, the Tigers lost at home against Chelan, 81-42.

“I thought we played pretty well considering the fact that we were playing one of the best teams in the state; it’s a tough match-up for anybody,” Braman said. “We weren’t able to stay close to them at the beginning which makes it tough, but with that said, I think our kids played hard the whole game.”

He added that the team improved against Chelan as well. The first game against the Goats, on Dec. 16, 2008, the Tigers lost 77-27 and Braman said this time the team was able to do some things that frustrated the Goats.

Hulse again led the team in scoring with 12 points while senior Austin Olma had nine and junior Wade Detillian had seven. Ayers led the team in assists with four.

“Defensively, I thought we had some really good sets,” Braman said. “Defensive is something you can always improve on. I think forcing them to make some shots they shouldn’t have made was an improvement.”

As of press time, the Tigers hadn’t yet played against Okanogan and on Saturday, Feb. 7, they play at home against Cascade at 7:30 p.m.

The Tonasket boys’ basketball team began a hard three-game series against Brewster on Saturday, Jan. 24.

The team played away against Brewster, the number one team in the league, losing 61-44 in their third time playing the Bears.

“The first time we played against Brewster, the score was 73-45 and the second time it was 85-53,” Glenn Braman, head coach, said. “So, holding Brewster to 61 points on their own court is pretty good.”

Seniors Austin Olma and Brandon Wahl led the team in scoring. Olma had 13 points and Wahl had eight. Wahl also led the team in assists with four while senior Michael Hulse led in steals with three and senior Jeramy Dellinger led in total rebounds with 10.

“I thought we played really well,” Braman said. “It was about a four-minute stretch in the second quarter that kind of did us in. Brewster out scored us by one in the second half. We got hit by the turnover bug and you can’t do that against the number one team in the league.”

Earlier last week, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, Tonasket lost at home against Omak 57-41.

“I thought it was one of the best performances we had all season,” Braman said. “It was kind of unfortunate, I thought, that the foul count was a little off. Omak got to go to the foul line a lot and I thought we should have gotten to as well. I’m not saying that we didn’t foul, but that we didn’t get as many freethrow shots as I thought we should have. I didn’t think it was a 16-point game; it seemed more like an eight-point game.”

Olma again led the Tigers in scoring with nine points while Hulse and Dellinger each had seven. Olma and Wahl also led in steals with two each while Dellinger and senior Bryce Johnson led in total rebounds with six each and sophomore Colton Ayers led in assists with three. Braman said the team had a season low of 13 turnovers against Omak.

The Brewster game began a three-game series against the top three teams in the league. As of press time, Tonasket had not yet played Lake Roosevelt, the number three team, on Tuesday, Jan. 27 and on Saturday, Jan. 31, the Tigers play against Chelan, the number three team, at home.

“This week is probably our toughest week,” Braman said. “Brewster is number one, Lake Roosevelt is no three and Chelan is number two, so it’s a definite challenge for us. We just need to go out there and play hard.”