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Sometimes in athletic contests you get a feeling from the very beginning of what that game may hold. Such was the case with the Cahokia Conference Varsity boys’ basketball game between the Dupo Tigers and the visiting Steeleville Warriors. The Warriors came out hot and stayed that way as they ran away with the victory 80-57.
The Warriors established their game plan early as they attacked the Tigers with a ‘run and gun’ style of play that was immediately effective. The Warriors seemed organized and energetic in their execution of the offense and defense while the Tigers looked to be in disarray as Steeleville opened the game with an 8-0 run. The Warriors remained in control of the score and the tempo of the game as they led 22-13 after the first quarter.
The Tigers came back a little in the second quarter. The Tigers kept pace with the Warriors as they both scored 16 points in the quarter but that did little to help them gain any ground. It became apparent that Dupo Tigers Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Matt Carpenter was frustrated with his squad’s inability to reduce their mistakes on the floor. Coach Carpenter said, “The boys know what they did wrong. We told them that they were going to come at us and that they like to drive the lane if you let them. They’ll shoot outside if you let them but they’d rather drive. They did everything that we thought they’d do. We went over this in practice yesterday and before the game tonight.” His frustration from the notion that at times the Tigers played uninspired, lazy defense that helped the Warriors maintain their lead 39-29 at the half.
The Tigers picked up the pace offensively early in the third quarter and seemed as if they might be poised to make a run at the Warriors. But the Tigers reverted to their old ways of the first quarter and failed to take care of the ball resulting in turnovers. Sloppy ball handling and untimely, errant passes seemed to be the trademark for the Tigers on this night. Steeleville took advantage and outscored the Tigers 19-11 in the quarter to lead 58-40 at the end of the third quarter. Coach Carpenter said, “We had shots, we were down ten at the half and came out in the third quarter and cut the lead down to five but two minutes later they were up again by twelve. We seem worried about dribbling the ball and not looking down court to pass the ball. We’re worried more about getting past somebody than we are keeping our heads up and seeing the whole court and taking care of the ball.”
The fourth quarter saw Steeleville maintain their lead and stretch it a bit as they worked in their bench. The Tigers got their bench involved as well and the Warriors outscored the Tigers 22-17 in the fourth quarter to make the final score 80-57.
Although the Tigers and their fans were disappointed with the loss, one must credit the Steeleville Warriors with their fine play and execution of their game plan. The Warriors shot the ball extremely well, especially in the first half. Something that Dupo Tigers’ Coach Matt Carpenter expected. “When you’re slow on defense and you don’t get over and cover them they’re going to hit their shots. I’ve seen them play and we knew what they were going to throw at us. We didn’t recover or cover them they way we should have the entire game.”
The loss slips the Tigers’ record to 2-5, 0-2 in the conference. But there’s still a lot of season left and a lot of time to right the ship. Coach Carpenter said, “We have to learn from these mistakes and try not to make the same mistakes twice. Every conference game were in this year is winnable, we’ve got Valmeyer on Friday and we’ve got to pick up a win somewhere.”
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