Tigers a perfect 10

It was standing room only in Tiger Nation on Friday evening as the Encampment Tigers hosted their Valley and conference rivals, the Saratoga Panthers (77-58). Starting out with a 12 point lead in the first quarter, the Tigers kept a double digit lead on Saratoga until the end of the game. Encampment continued their winning weekend as they traveled to Hanna to face-off against the Hanna, Elk Mountain and Medicine Bow (HEM) Miners (69-52). The two victories over the weekend added to the winning streak that the Encampment boys have been seeing since the beginning of the season.

Encampment vs. Saratoga

Going into winter break, the Tigers were given a longer rest than originally expected as the North Park Wildcats canceled their game and forfeited to Encampment. Despite this, the boys came out swinging in their first post-break game against the Panthers (6-3, 0-1) as they grabbed an early lead against Saratoga, only allowing them to score 6 points. Throughout the game, Encampment maintained their double digit lead despite the best efforts of the Panthers.

Consistent scoring from sophomore Dalton Peterson, junior Dayne Anderson and senior Kyler Miller helped get, and keep, the Tigers ahead of Saratoga. The teamwork of Encampment, however, could not be overstated as each member of the team contributed in some way to the victory. The overwhelming lead that the Tigers had allowed Head Coach Jake Johnston to put in less experienced players, such as Koye Gilbert.

Playing against the Panthers, Peterson had 29 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. Anderson followed with 16 points and Miller with 14 points. Junior Reid Schroeder scored 10 points and had 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 steals and senior Sean Stewart scored 8 points and had 10 rebounds.

As the first half ended, the Tigers were leading Saratoga 43-24 and, even though the Panthers come into the second half attempting to get ahead, Encampment was able to maintain their substantial lead. In the end, the Tigers secured their first conference win coming out of break with a final score of 77-58.

"I thought both teams played really hard," said Johnston. "I think our defense rotation ... was a little slow, but we worked hard enough on rebounding to make up for that. Saratoga's a good basketball team, they have a fantastic coach. Both teams played hard. I'm just happy to get a win from such a quality coach."

Encampment vs. HEM

Following their win in front of the home crowd on Friday, Encampment was northbound on Saturday as they traveled to Hanna to face the Miners (4-4, 0-0). While there, the Tigers were able to snag a victory from No. 2 ranked HEM.

Peterson scored 23 points against the Miners, giving him a total of 52 points over the weekend, and had 10 steals. Following Peterson were Schroeder, with 15 points, 8 assists, and Stewart, with 15 points.

With yet another winning weekend behind them, Encampment is 10-0 for the season and 1-0 for conference. The Tigers will get a bit of a rest as they only have one game this weekend as they travel to Baggs, where they will be hosted by the Little Snake River Valley Rattlers (7-2, 0-0) at noon on Jan. 12.