Tigers get out and run to 49-24 victory against overmatched Spartans
By Drew Herron - AJ/NT Sports / Feb. 22, 2014
GRISWOLD – It did not take long for Griswold to display the basketball intangibles Saturday night’s young opponent did not yet possess.
On its home court, Griswold, long and athletic with an underappreciated quickness about them, over ran Exira-EHK 49-24 in Class 1A District 13 quarterfinal action.
Griswold senior Tyrel Peters, who eventually would lead all scorers on the night with 18 points, nudged the Tigers onto their way in the opening quarter with 10 points of his own, and the home team didn’t trail at all after the opening two minutes.
The Tigers were more than effective at speeding the game up as they ran the floor and fed the offense with high-pressure trap defense.
“Our defense was very good tonight and our offense made too many foolish mistakes,” Griswold coach Chad Rodgers said afterwards. “But defense is what we have lived on all season long, and we did a nice job of applying pressure on their guards.”
The Tigers pestered the younger and under experienced Spartans squad with a 1-3-1 zone that employed an effective trap, and it led to multiple points off turnovers for Griswold.
“They speed us up a little bit, and we weren’t used to that,” Exira-EHK coach Doug Newton said. “It’s difficult to come out here and hit a switch and just be able to play at a faster pace than what you’ve been practicing at.”
Length was also a marked advantage for Griswold in Saturday night’s matchup, with the Tigers enjoying a height advantage averaging perhaps two or three inches across the floor.
The size and defensive tact helped build a metaphorical fence around the basket that stretched and grew as the game wore on. It denied the Spartans the penetration they’d have liked to employ, and kept scoring chances down with limited quality looks.
“We seemed to make one dribble too many, and then before long we’d end up in a double-team, and then try to do something about it instead of before,” coach Newton says of the trapping. “But when you’re facing players that are 6-foot-4 or 6-foot-5 and they’re closing in on you…we got kind of a deer in the headlights look.”
Exira-EHK shot the ball just 28 percent (10-of-36), and was out-performed on the boards 28-13. Griswold conversely shot 50 percent from the floor (20-of-40) and feasted on 20 turnovers.
Griswold moves on to a semifinal round meeting Tuesday (Feb. 25) against Orient-Macksburg at Nodaway Valley High School in Greenfield. The Bulldogs improved their record to 8-13 with a 57-31 win over Guthrie Center before the Tigers and Spartans tipped off Saturday night.
The Tigers (14-8) use four seniors on a squad that finished fourth in the top-heavy Western Iowa Conference, but none stepped up bigger against Exira-EHK than Peters.
“He carries us,” coach Rodgers says of Peters. “Offensively, when he gets into a flow, the rest of the team follows him. Defensively, when he’s being aggressive, we tend to play a lot better. So we kind of goes as he goes.”
Exira-EHK ends its season at 6-17 this winter, with a playoff victory to build on for next season.
“The guys didn’t quit, played their butts off and kept digging,” coach Newton says. “You can’t fault the effort.”
Game Scoring (02/22):
EXIRA-EHK (6-17): Drew Peppers 5, Drew Buckholdt 4, Jake Paulsen 4, Tate Simpson 3, Lucas Schwery 2, Noah Pettepier 2, Zack Petersen 2 Free Throws: 3/7
GRISWOLD (14-8): Tyrel Peters 18, Grant Haynes 9, Mason Boucher 9, Jacob Maass 4, Walker Mundorf 4, Johnny Duggan 3, Jacob Reynolds 2 Free Throws: 8/13
#griswoldtigers #exira-ehk #iahsbkb #iowaprep
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