Tonasket senior Terrell Cross jumps up to stop Chelan freshman Michael Amsel, Jr. (20) from scoring during Tonasket’s home loss to Chelan on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Also shown is junior Corbin Moser (32). Photo by Terry Mills
TONASKET – With losses in their first two league games of the season, the Tiger losing streak has increased to 19 and their head coach said they need to find a way to stop it.
On Tuesday, Dec. 15, the Tigers lost at home 86-45 to Chelan after being down only 38-26 at halftime. Sophomore John Stedtfeld led the team in scoring with 15 points while junior Colton Ayers had 10 points and senior Terrell Cross had 7 points. Ayers led the team in rebounding with 7 while junior Corbin Moser had three assists and senior Wade DeTillian had two steals.
“The first half was a positive for us,” Glenn Braman, head coach, said. “We scored some points and kept it to a manageable deficit at halftime but the second half, Chelan cranked up the defensive intensity and we played right into what they wanted us to do. We turned the ball over too much and they racked up a huge lead.”
Cross said he thought the team played well in the first half and not so well in the second half.
“I think we’re getting better as the season goes on and when the second half comes around, we will play better for a full 32 minutes,” Cross added.
Braman said the team has just got to get better at taking care of the ball and making every possession count.
“Once we can turn the ball over less and put some value into each possession we can put some fear into some opponents,” he added. “In the first half, we did a lot better job taking care of the ball and defensively putting them in half-court set-ups. In the third quarter, we started turning the ball over and they would score and once that cycle began, they starting racking up points.”
On Friday, Dec. 18, the Tigers lost at home to Brewster 55-45. Stedtfeld led the team in scoring, shooting 27.3 percent from the field for eight points and 83.3 percent from the freethrow line for five more points while junior Zach Neal shot 71.4 percent from the field for 10 points. Ayers lead in defense with nine rebounds, three assists and one steal while Stedtfeld had four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Moser had two rebounds and Neal and junior Tyler Thornton each had one steal.
“Defensively, the first half was good and the fourth quarter offensively was our best,” Braman said. “We were playing with a lot more purpose and we out-scored them by six but it wasn’t enough. It seems like it took us three quarters to really get cranked up and going but they’re a young team so they need to learn to make every possession count.”
Neal said he didn’t think the team played well in the first half but they tried to pull together in the second half.
“We’re improving on fundamentals but still need to improve our turnovers,” Neal added.
The Tigers don’t play again until the Brewster Christmas Tournament on Tuesday, Dec. 29 and Wednesday, Dec. 30.
“We need to have a good little push here and we need to get a W bad, especially in league,” Braman said. “We’re riding a 19-game league losing streak and we need to find a way to make it stop.”
