Both the women's and men's basketball teams were in action on Wednesday, February 27 as part of their Region XI tournaments. With it being tournament time, wins would extend their seasons and losses would end their seasons. Both teams were facing tough tasks as they were taking on teams they were 0-2 against on the season.
The women were on the road at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, NE for a 5 PM tipoff. The contest started off close as the Tigers were down by just three, 13-16, after the first quarter. The second quarter was a different story as the Hawks held the visiting Tigers to just four points while putting up 23 to take a 22 point lead into the half.
The third quarter was a little bit better for the Tigers, but still, the Hawks outscored the Tigers 24-14. Down by 32 going into the fourth quarter, the game was all but over. However, the Tigers never gave up and matched the Hawks shot for shot in the fourth quarter. After four quarter, the Tigers fell to the Hawks, 46-78.
The men were also on the road as they travelled to Ottumwa, IA to take on the Warriors of Indian Hills. The Tigers entered the contest at 15-14 on the season, while Indian Hills entered at 25-5. The environment was electric as the home team packed the gym with fans, cheerleaders, and a pep band while the Tigers brought a bus full of fans to the game as well.
The game got off to a fast start for both offenses. Kelton Edwards was shining for the Tigers as the two teams traded buckets for the first ten minutes. In those ten minutes, Edwards shot 4-5 from beyond the arc and had fourteen total points.
The second ten minutes saw both teams start to defend better. The Warriors started denying Edwards the ball and forced others to find a way to score. Meanwhile, the Tigers locked down the paint defensively and secured the boards. At the end of the first half, the Tigers had all the momentum following a converted shot by Eduardo Lane at the buzzer to send the Tigers to the locker room with a 40-33 lead.
The second half saw an inspired Warriors team. The Warriors came out with increased defensive pressure as the ref crew aloud both teams to play very physically.
As the Warriors made their run, Tigers head coach, Brynjar Brynjarson, tried to slow the momentum with a series of timeouts. However, there was no slowing down the Warriors. Their funneling press proved difficult for the Tigers to handle and the Warriors outscored the Tigers 43-25 in the second half to escape with a 76-65 victory.
With the losses, the men finished their season with a 15-15 record while the women ended up 6-21.
