Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
While senior class parents served grilled burgers Saturday night in the LaCrosse cafeteria to benefit a post-graduation Hawaii trip, the L/W Tigercats met Pomeroy in the gym.
LaCrosse-Washtucna senior guard Alec Fleming takes the ball down the floor for the Tigercats (15-4,11-4) in a smooth win Saturday. The game put them in a tenuous second place in the Southeast 1B league, ahead of Colton and Pomeroy (both 10-4 in league).
L/W controlled the game so much that halfway through, their thoughts may have drifted to thread counts at the Kailua Hilton.
The 50-38 win was one step closer to the team’s aim for the season.
“Our goal was to win league,” said senior Justin Wargo. “While that doesn’t look like it can happen, our major goal was to host a postseason game.”
Junior guard Joey Guske led the team with 14 points while Darcy Stamper scored 13.
The win avenged a two-point L/W loss at Pomeroy Jan. 8.
“We lost the intensity, we didn’t have the intensity that night,” Wargo said. “We were looking for an excuse.”
The Tigercats had four reserve players out sick in that game.
Back at home Saturday night, L/W welcomed back another returning player who had gone sick. Senior post Jed Zimmer missed two games – losses to Gar-Pal and Rosalia.
Saturday against Pomeroy began with two three-pointers from Stamper and another from Guske which contributed to a 13-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“You guys are going through the motions like this is practice!” yelled a Pomeroy fan.
Back on the floor for the second quarter, the Pirates’ Riley Bott slapped a Tigercat shot into the bleachers but his team kept falling further behind.
At 15-3 with 5:59 left in the half, talk by some in the Pomeroy stands turned to whether the Dusty store would still be open after the game.
“Quit standing there, box out!” yelled another Pirates fan.
L/W’s Zimmer then hit from the top of the key for 21-4.
With three minutes remaining in the half, a Pomeroy player came down sick, seeking fresh air and Tums.
Pomeroy began to press on defense.
In the second half, L/W senior Austin Summers hit a three-pointer for 32-16 before another senior, Alec Fleming, made a nice drive and one-handed six-footer for 34-16.
Pomeroy’s Bott then hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 38-21 while L/W’s Zimmer struggled to get a shot to fall.
Stamper hit a pull-up eight-footer for 40-21 while Zimmer just couldn’t hit.
But there were thread counts to think about.
Zimmer then missed from one-foot – glass, rim and out.
At the end of the game, he had the ball in hand near half court. Zimmer looked up at the basket, thought about a shot, but no. That’s not what you do on Hawaiian time.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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