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Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Dupo Tigers Varsity Boys Basketball Coach Matt Carpenter has been searching for a balanced effort from his team for much of the season. For the most part that has eluded the 4-17 Tigers this season. Suffering through injuries, player departures and disciplinary issues the Dupo Tigers starting lineup is a little different than it was at the beginning of the season. The Tigers bench is a youth movement as Freshmen Jimmie Dickerson and Matt McDonald have seen increased playing time. Despite their record this Tiger team is better than they were at the beginning of the season and that was evidenced by their play Monday night in their loss against Valley Park.
The Valley Park Hawks came into the game with the number one rebounder in the St Louis area in Josh Ramsey. The 6’8” center leads the area with 303 rebounds for an average of 15.2 rebounds per game. He is also second in the St Louis area in blocks with 100 for an average of 5 per game. To offer some contrast the Tigers leading rebounder is Caleb Tatum with 174 rebounds this year for an average of 7.9 per game and the Tigers leader in blocks is Kaleb Anderson with 11 for an average of .50 per game. But the Tigers knew this going in having played the Hawks in the Affton Holiday Tournament losing 48-43.
The game was closely contested throughout with each team taking the lead back from the other. Dupo used a full court press for most of the game and it was effective at times. The Tigers harassed the Hawks’ Josh Ramsey each time he had the ball, showing double and triple teams. But the talented Ramsey still had a good game scoring 20 points with 17 rebounds and 8 blocks. Despite Ramsey’s good game the Tigers held the other Hawks’ in check and kept themselves in the game. Were it not for their poor free throw shooting the Tigers could have won the game. The Tigers shot a dismal 35% from the line as they were 7 of 20 on free throws. Coach Carpenter said, “We spend so much time shooting free throws, I don’t know what it is, if the concentration is not there or what.”
Although the Tigers lost the game it was possibly their best effort of the year. The Tigers effort was consistent for all four quarters and they certainly controlled and dictated the game’s tempo. Coach Carpenter said, “In the past the third quarter had always killed us, but tonight we outscored them by five in the third. This was the best four quarters we’ve had all season.” Matt Ragsdale, who has struggled at times, had his best game of the season for the Tigers. The senior guard was the catalyst Monday night making plays on offense and defense on his way to 15 points for the game. Coach Carpenter said, “Ragsdale finally looked to score tonight and I’ve told him all season long that when he scores we’re going to be in the game. It was the best game he’s played all season and I know that in the fourth quarter he was dead tired because he was in for most of the game.“ Caleb Tatum had another good game for the Tigers, the 6’3” Tiger forward scored 24 points Monday night and he has quietly put together a fine season averaging 12.8 points per game.
The loss drops the Tigers to 4-18, 0-9 as they are scheduled to travel to Affton and face the Affton Cougars (6-13, 0-4) on Tuesday, February 09th, 2010. The Tigers host Cahokia Conference Kaskaskia Division rival Valmeyer Pirates (1-21, 1-7) on Friday, February 12th. The Tigers will be seeking revenge Friday as the Pirates only win of the season came against the Tigers in overtime back on December 18th, 59-58. Friday night’s game will also be senior night.
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