Encampment boys start running clocks against the Longhorns and Wildcats during post-holiday games
Photos by Joshua Wood Tiger Dayne Anderson moves through three Rock River players for a layup during Friday's game against the Longhorns.
Photo by Joshua Wood Encampment Tiger Caysen Barkhurst (10) gets an arm to the face as a North Park player attempts to block his shot. Encampment defeated North Park 63-22.
Over the weekend, the Encampment Tigers showed that they didn't waste any time during their holiday break. Hosting two non-conference games, the Tigers hit the hardwood running as they ended both games with running clocks. On Friday afternoon, the Tigers hosted the Rock River Longhorns and wasted no time in putting points on the board. Saturday afternoon saw similar gameplay as Encampment hosted the North Park Wildcats.
With the significant lead that the Tigers saw over both teams, Head Coach Jake Johnston was able to play his first-string substitutes. Along with getting them some experience on the court, it also gave the non-starting players a chance to get some points on the board.
"This past weekend was good for us to play a couple games during a long break," said Johnston. "I thought we played hard and gave a good effort as a team."
Tigers vs. Longhorns
Despite the winter weather that had been resulting in road closures throughout the week, the Rock River Longhorns were able to make the trip to Tiger Nation. Rock River had gone into the holiday break without any wins and the Tigers weren't going to let them get one on Friday.
In the 1st quarter, Encampment established an early lead as they put a total of 18 points on the board. Rock River, unable to keep pace with the Tigers, trailed by 11 points as they scored only 7 points in the first eight minutes of the game. Barely three minutes into the 1st quarter, Encampment had already established a 12-0 lead.
While the Longhorns were able to get more points on the board in the 2nd quarter, they did little to stop Encampment's offense. Rock River scored 11 points to the Tiger's 19 as Johnston's starters each showed consistent scoring and forced turnovers. Before the end of the 1st half, Encampment's first-string substitutes began to see time on the hardwood. The Tigers went into half-time leading 37-18.
Coming into the 2nd half, Encampment continued to run the Longhorns up and down the court. At times, however, Rock River was able to force some turnovers on the Tigers. Despite that, Encampment maintained a strong lead and put three times the points on the board as the Longhorns, scoring 24 points to Rock River's 8 points.
In the final quarter of the game, the Tigers initiated a running clock from which Rock River could not escape. Encampment, in fact, kept the Longhorns to scoring only a single point in the final eight minutes of the game while they scored 12.
Junior Dalton Peterson led the team with 19 points and 9 rebounds and was followed by senior Dayne Anderson with 18 points. Senior Reid Schroeder scored 11 points and had 8 assists and 7 steals and sophomore Koye Gilbert also scored 11 points.
The final score against the Rock River Longhorns was 73-27.
Tigers vs. Wildcats
For the second home game of the weekend, the North Park Wildcats made their way north from Walden. Much like the day before, Encampment hit the court hard and fast. In the 1st quarter, North Park appeared unable to match the energy of the Tigers as they only managed to put 4 points on the board. Encampment, meanwhile, scored a total of 27 points within the first eight minutes. Two 3-pointers, one from Peterson and one from D. Anderson, helped keep that lead for the Tigers.
During the 2nd quarter of the game, North Park was still unable to get any traction on the court against the Tigers. While Encampment put another 15 points on the scoreboard, the Wildcats only managed to collectively score another 4 points. As the Tigers continued to dominate their home court, the frustration from North Park became evident as the head coach was given a technical foul before the end of the 1st half. Encampment went into half-time leading 42-8.
As both teams returned to the court for the 2nd half, the Wildcats appeared to gain some traction. It was a case of too little, too late for North Park, however, as Encampment ended up starting a running clock in the 3rd quarter. While Walden managed to put 9 more points on the board, the Tigers scored another 14 points.
In the 4th quarter, which saw the running clock continue, Encampment put up 7 points as the Wildcats managed 5 points. Throughout the entire 2nd half, Johnston was able to put in some of his substitute players and still maintain the lead against North Park. It was a game in which nearly every player managed to get in the scorebook.
D. Anderson scored a total of 18 points against North Park and was followed by Gilbert with 14. Peterson scored 11 and Michael Anderson scored 9 points.
The final score against the Wildcats was 63-22.
With the two wins over the weekend, the Encampment Tigers are now 10-0 for the season. The Tigers will begin conference play this week as they are hosted by Valley rivals, the Saratoga Panthers (8-0, 0-0) at 7:30 p.m. on January 9 in Saratoga.
"This week does mark the start of conference play. We play in a tough conference with great coaches and tons of talent on every team," Johnston said. "We will need to play well in every game to be competitive."
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