Tigers' varsity basketball season begins

The Mountain Home Tigers open their boys basketball season this week with three home games.

Last Wednesday night the Tigers held their annual Orange and Black scrimmage, won by the Orange squad, 50-47, in overtime. Third-year Tiger head coach Brion Bethel was pleased with the number of fans that turned out for the scrimmage.

"It was fantastic. I was really impressed with the number of people that came out and participated," said Coach Bethel, who was also excited about this year's turnout for Tiger basketball.

"We got just what we want in the numbers we need," the coach said. I wish we would have had a couple older guys come out, but with what we've got, I am really impressed. We've got good numbers."

What excites Coach Bethel about his varsity squad is that they lost just three to graduation, only one of those a starter, and they have a lot of good talent coming back.

"One of the things that I'm super excited about is this is the first time that we're actually kind of picking up where we left off last year, instead of starting all over, so it's been good that where we're at right now is way further ahead than we've been in the last two years. We're really excited about where we're at."

Coach Bethel is also excited that he has two new players at the varsity level in Jymon Garretson and Jermaine Smith.

"Jermaine Smith -- he's actually been here before, moved away and come back -- and we've got Jymon Garretson, who's played with us every summer on some of our summer league teams, so he's pretty familiar with what we've done and everything."

This year, the 4A Southern Idaho Conference is down to six teams, as Emmett moved down to 3A, and Columbia and Nampa moved up to 5A, leaving the Tigers to battle Bishop Kelly, Caldwell, Kuna, Middleton and Skyview for the conference crown.

"It's kind of interesting," said Coach Bethel of the new 4A SIC. "From what I hear, we have the toughest conference in 4A in the state, which is kind of exciting.

"It's going to be anyone's race this year, which is kind of cool to say," the coach added. "I know Middleton's going to be tough, Kuna has Jake Johnson and they're super tough, Bishop Kelly, I know they're loaded, and Skyview's always tough -- they know how to win -- and I feel our team is pretty loaded, also, so it's any man's race this year."

The Tigers opened at home against Columbia on Tuesday, host Jerome tonight, Dec. 3, and host Nampa on Friday.

Coach Bethel says these games should give them a chance to gauge their strengths in who plays better with whom.

"It should tell us a whole lot trying to figure the chemistry of who plays well together, who we can press with and who we can't press with, who needs to be on the court in certain situations," he said. "That's really more of what it's going to be about, and how the refs call the game, and how we get stops on defense, so that will be really interesting to see."

The Nampa game on Friday night will be an Orange Out Night. Fans that wear their Orange Out shirts get admitted free. Frosh-soph action tips off at 4:30 p.m., and JV action around 6 p.m., with the varsity game around 7:30 p.m.