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It’s been an interesting season thus far for Dupo Jr High Basketball Coach Kraig Roth and his young Tiger basketball team. Struggling through injuries to his starting lineup and a three-week layoff between games Coach Roth and his team have looked unbeatable at their very best and very beatable at their very worst. A ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ routine that was on display as the Tigers took on the SPPS Falcons of Waterloo Tuesday night, losing 52-41.
The Falcons sport a large starting lineup that took control early in the contest. The Tigers applied a full court press, which has provided results for them in the past but had little effect early, as the Falcons were able to not only break the press but also find themselves in favorable offensive situations as a result. The Tigers on the other hand looked sloppy on offense, impatient and throwing up bad shots. As a result the Falcons were able to take a commanding lead at half time 29-12. Coach Roth said, “When we tried to press early in the game it wasn’t working and we were giving up easy buckets, a lot of three on ones.”
The Tigers and the Falcons made some lineup changes in the second half. The Tigers were seeking to seize the game’s tempo while the Falcons were giving their starters a rest and both teams succeeded. The game tempo turned to the Tigers favor as they returned to the full court press, only this time it was working. The Falcons gave their bench players some good game time while giving their starters a rest and they maintained their lead. But the Tigers outscored the Falcons 14-11 in the third quarter to cut the Falcons lead to twelve at 40-28. SPPS Falcons Coach Vernon Tepen said, “We made a lot of substitutions in the second half and we didn’t take care of the ball very well. But give Dupo credit, they came out and played harder then we did and got back in the game.”
The fourth quarter was an exciting one as the Tigers continued to control the tempo and cut further into the Falcons lead. The Tigers best shot blocker and one of the team leaders in scoring, Willie Kidd, fouled out in with 5:20 left in the game and the Falcons up by nine points. With Kidd out of the game the Tigers got all the scoring they needed from Tyler Barnes. The Tigers chipped away at the Falcons lead until they were down by just three points with 1:49 left in the game at 44-41. But with the SPPS Falcons starters back in the lineup the Tigers were missing Willie Kidd’s defensive, rebounding and shot blocking skills and the Falcons were able to defend their lead and extend it winning 52-41. Coach Roth said, “I thought we played a great second half and a tremendous fourth quarter but we played a lousy first half. You just can’t have a bad half against a team like SPPS and expect to come back and win. We’ve had some games earlier in the year where we started out slow but we were more talented and able to come back. But you just can’t do that against a good team because they know how to slow the game down and force you to play their game. But I think our second half tonight is something we can build on for the remainder of the season.”
Between the third and fourth quarter of Tuesday evening’s game SPPS Coach Vernon Tepen presented Tyler Barnes of the Tigers with an ‘All Tournament Team’ medal he earned in the SPPS Holiday Tournament. After the game Coach Tepen said of Barnes, “Tyler Barnes is a strong specimen. He’s got a nice touch around the basket, he made some outside shots and really made us work to defend him. He took it to us and we’re not really used to seeing that too much.” Coach Roth added, “He doesn’t give up no matter what. He’s a tremendous talent and he plays hard. There was a time in the game tonight where we cut the lead down to six points and I believe it was almost entirely because of Tyler.”
The SPPS Falcons are a part of the Cahokia JR High Conference in which the Dupo Tigers have been trying to rejoin after having left the conference several years ago. I asked Coach Tepen how his school felt about the Tigers rejoining the conference. He responded, “We’ve always said that we’d like to see Dupo in the Cahokia Conference. I don’t have a lot of influence over that, but yeah I’d like to see them in the conference.” Considering the fact that the Tigers have been able to compete well against the teams they have faced from the Cahokia Conference this fall and winter I asked Coach Roth his opinion of Dupo possibly joining the conference. “There are nothing but benefits for us to be in the Cahokia Jr High Conference. Being involved in conference tournaments and the level of competition would be advantageous for all of our athletes and we would be better prepared for the playoffs.”
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