Tigers return to action with loss to Capital

It was not exactly the way Mountain Home Tiger basketball coach Tony Kerfoot was wanting to start the new year Friday night, when the Tigers faced the Capital Eagles at Capital High School in Boise.

Capital sophomore Kyle Efaw scored 18 points in the second half -- 11 in the fourth quarter -- as the Eagles broke open a close ball game second half and ran past Mountain Home 67-48 in non-conference boys basketball.

The Tigers stayed close to the Eagles in a first half that had eight lead changes and two ties.

Capital led 14-12 after a quarter, and, after a trey by Keith Yagues to open the second period gave Mountain Home what would be their last lead of the game, at 15-14, the Eagles built up a 28-23 halftime lead.

Kyle Efaw, Dane Pence and Nick Davis combined for 20 points in the third period, as the Eagles got their running game going and took a 48-35 lead into the final quarter.

Mountain Home started the fourth on a 7-0 run to cut the Eagles lead to six, 48-42, with 6:10 left in the ball game, prompting Capital coach Ted Hettinga to call a time out.

Over the next three minutes the Eagles went on a 10-0 run until Travis Elliott hit one of two free throws to make it 58-43. The Tigers managed to cut the Capital lead to 58-46, with 2:35 left, but could come no closer, as the Eagles went on a 9-0 run before Clark Williams hit two free throws with six seconds left to make it a 67-48 final.

"Our defense didn't look like it was there at all in the second half, and it really wasn't," said Tiger coach Tony Kerfoot after the game.

"We let ourselves get out of position on transition defense an awful lot, and our transition defense wasn't there. I'd watched (scouted) them, and that's one thing we said at the outset of the game was we had to stop their transition, because they look for much of their offense out of their transition.

"I thought in the first half, we did a pretty good job and they didn't get very many fast break buckets, but that's all it was in the second half, fast breaks."

Arturo Garcia led Mountain Home with 17 points, including 11 in the first half. Travis Elliott scored eight points, Keith Yagues added six, Clark Williams had a season-high five points, Brock Zamora and Stephen Reinschmidt both tallied four, and Danny Downen and Jarrod Roberson each scored two. Roberson, a 5' 10" sophomore, was playing in his first varsity contest after moving up from the junior varsity squad.

Earlier this season, Roberson scored 43 points in a JV game at Nampa.

Mountain Home made just three of 15 (20 percent) three-point shots, and 10 of 33 (30 percent) two-point field goals. They shot 68 percent (19 of 28) from the foul line.

Capital made just two of 14 (14 percent) long range shots, and connected on only five of 14 (36 percent) free throws, but were a torrid 28 of 52 (54 percent) in two-point field goals. The taller Eagles dominated the boards, 44-25.

The Tigers were to play at Wood River on Saturday, but the game was called off because of weather conditions. That gives the Tigers a few days to regroup before starting SIC 4A play this week, Thursday night at Caldwell, and Saturday night at home against Vallivue.

Coach Kerfoot welcomes the time off.

"We need that. That shows it tonight, giving up 67 beans, we're not going to win very many ball games doing that, so we're going to have to learn to play a little better D!"