Sports
Trimble Tomcats: Dec. 20-27
By: Andrew Hines
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This week brought the Tomcats an early Christmas present, as well as their first loss of the season.
Santa decided stop by Trimble on Dec. 22 to deliver the Tomcats their sixth win of the season, against Southern, and keep their undefeated season alive.
The Tomcats came ready to play, edging out the Tornadoes 69-49. Head coach Howie Caldwell said the game showed an all around team effort.
“To be honest, this was one of those games where it was a total team effort, where everybody came in and contributed,” Caldwell explained.
Caldwell noted that Justice Jenkins and Bryce Guthrie stepped up and led the team in the victory. The two finished with 19 and 16 points respectively.
Caldwell went on to mention that his team’s goal the entire game was to break the other team down and tire them out.
“We implemented a jump-and-run style where we tried to wear the other team out if we can, and it worked very well last night (Dec. 22),” Caldwell said.
While some teams can sometimes perform almost flawlessly, Caldwell explained how there were some areas that his team was far from excelling at. He said his team needed to work on their foul shooting. There hasn’t been one game where they have shot at least 60 percent from the line.
Going into the game on Dec. 26, Coach Caldwell said he wanted his team to control the ball better and reduce the amount of turnovers.
That unfortunately did not happen for the Tomcats, when they fell 69-49 in their first loss of the season against Portsmouth.
Turnovers and a lack of experience seemed to be the main points of discussion for the Tomcats. Portsmouth took full advantage of Trimble and their turnovers, especially in the second half.
“At the end of the third quarter we were ahead 40-38 and turned the ball over three straight times, and they scored on every turnover” Caldwell said.
Despite the turnovers, Caldwell said it was a great game between two great teams. Once again, Guthrie and Jenkins came ready to play. Guthrie was the only player to finish with double figures. Cody Jones and Randy Hixon also helped the Tomcats.
Caldwell also mentioned that he wants the younger players to get used to a faster pace of play in a varsity game compared to a junior varsity game, and that’s where the seniors need to step up and be leaders.
Caldwell said his team is putting this loss behind them and preparring for Nelsonville- York on Dec. 29.