Tigers' woes continue, lose to Vallivue, Skyview

The Mountain Home Tigers boys basketball team showed improvement, but still were unable to break into the win column last week, dropping games to Vallivue and Skyview.

Vallivue 83, Mountain Home 65

The Tigers built up a nine-point first-half lead, but were unable to hang on to it as a hot-shooting Vallivue Falcon team exploded for 28 points in the fourth quarter to down the Tigers 83-65 last Tuesday night in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium in Mountain Home.

Trailing 12-4 midway through the first quarter, the Tigers went on an 18-1 run to take a 22-13 lead with 7:31 left in the first half.

Vallivue chipped away at the Tiger lead, going ahead 38-33 at the half. Mountain Home got within three on a couple occasions in the third quarter, but trailed 55-48 heading into the fourth.

Mountain Home got back within three at 57-54, with 6:57 left in the ball game, but the Falcons hit four straight three-point shots to push their lead to double digits, and cashed in from the free-throw line in the fourth, hitting 14 of 19 from the charity stripe down the stretch for an 83-65 win.

Despite the loss, Tiger Coach Brion Bethel saw some bright spots on which to build.

"I was proud of the guys. They actually ran the offense fairly well. They passed the ball well. We got every shot we wanted to get, we just couldn't make 'em, and that's the way it is sometimes -- sometimes you're hot, sometimes you're cold. Vallivue was hot tonight, they hit everything. We were cold, we missed them all. That's the way it works sometimes."

Mountain Home had four players score in double figures, led by Christian Riedel with 13 points. Jose Rodriguez added 12, AJ Woodruff and Tyler Park both scored 10, Jarek Schetzle had eight points, Brandon Reyes five, Devin Wright four, and Garrett McKenzie three.

The Tigers shot 34 percent (26/77) from the field, which included five of 21 (24 percent) treys. They shot 53 percent (8/15) from the free-throw line.

Jarek Schetzle hauled in 14 rebounds and blocked five shots. Tyler Park had nine rebounds. AJ Woodruff led the Tigers with six steals and Christian Riedel handed out four assists.

Coach Bethel said they had to learn from the Vallivue loss to get ready for Skyview two nights away.

"We have to go to Skyview next, so we're not going to hang our heads -- we don't have time for that -- we're going to get right back into the gym tomorrow and prepare for Skyview."

Skyview 60, Tigers 59 (OT)

Almost. The Mountain Home Tigers had the Skyview Hawks on the ropes all night long, but the Hawks battled back from a 14-point deficit to force overtime and then scored at the buzzer to edge the Tigers 60-59 in overtime at Skyview last Thursday night.

Trailing 5-1 early, Mountain Home went on an 11-0 run to take a 12-5 lead with just under two minutes left in the first quarter. Skyview rallied to cut it to 12-10, Tigers, after a quarter.

Mountain Home built its lead to nine points -- 27-19 -- in the second quarter before the Hawks again cut the deficit to two, 29-27, at the half.

The Tigers built their lead to 10 points in the third quarter and led 41-31 heading into the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back-baskets by Jose Rodriguez to start the fourth gave Mountain Home its biggest lead of the night, 45-31.

The Hawks then went on a 19-5 run to end the quarter, hitting a three-pointer with one second left to tie the game at 50-50.

The Tigers lost six-foot, nine-inch junior post Jarek Schetzle to fouls in the overtime period, but stayed with the Hawks, and took a 59-58 lead when Christian Riedel hit one of two free throws with 8.8 seconds left.

The Hawks called time out, and took the ball the length of the floor for the winning basket at the buzzer.

Despite the loss, Coach Bethel saw plenty of positives to build on from the game.

"I am proud of how the boys handled themselves tonight. They represented Mountain Home in fine fashion, even in defeat. I explained to the team that in order to learn how to handle winning, we have to learn how to handle losses first. They stepped up big time tonight.

"Now, we all, even the coaches, need to learn to play to win instead of playing not to lose. We're learning."

Jose Rodriguez led the Tigers in scoring with 14 points. AJ Woodruff netted 12 points. Jarek Schetzle had a double-double, scoring 10 points and bringing down 13 boards. Tyler Park scored eight points, Devin Wright six, Christian Riedel five and Jake Egusquiza two.

The Tigers, now 0-3 on the season and 0-1 in conference, travel to Caldwell tonight (Wednesday), and are at Bishop Kelly Friday night.

This week we begin a series of closer looks at the Mountain Home Tiger varsity boys basketball team.

Jose Rodriguez

Jose Rodriguez is one of just three seniors on this year's squad. The six-foot, five-inch post is the son of Elda and Fidel Rodriguez.

Jose's hobbies include hunting, fishing, and, "anything outdoors!"

Jose's goal for the season include both individual and team goals.

"Get better every day, and win some games," he said.

Rodriguez plans on going on to college, majoring in Wildlife Management and become a Fish and Game Conservation Officer.