Tigers first in conference after two more victories

The Mountain Home Tigers did something last week that they hadn't been able to do thus far in their conference schedule -- win on the road. The Tigers followed up last Wednesday's home basketball win over Kuna with a win at Caldwell to jump from fourth to first place in the SIC 4A standings.

Mountain Home 65, Kuna 49

Mountain Home hit its first five three-point shots to jump out to a big lead and kept the Kuna Kavemen at bay for a 65-49 conference boys basketball win last Wednesday at Mountain Home High School's Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium.

The Tigers jumped out to a 16-3 first quarter lead and stretched it to 18 points early in the second quarter. Mountain Home led, 31-16, at the half.

Mountain Home enjoyed its biggest lead of the night late in the third quarter when the lead grew to 48-28 on AJ Woodruff's trey. It was 48-31 for the Tigers as they headed into the fourth quarter.

Kuna hit four three-pointers in the fourth quarter to cut the Tiger's lead to nine with 2:03 left in the game. But Mountain Home finished strong, going on an 8-1 run down the stretch for the win.

Mountain Home Tigers basketball coach Brion Bethel was impressed with the composure his Tigers maintained down the stretch.

"They took care of the ball a little bit better toward the end and were able to hit a few big shots and they kept playing," the coach said. "They weathered the storm and did a really good job -- that's maturity showing up there."

Jarek Schetzle and Jymon Garretson led the Mountain Home scoring with 14 points apiece. Garrett McKenzie and Tyler Park both added eight points and Jermaine Smith, AJ Woodruff and Christen Riedel each scored seven points.

Mountain Home ended the night shooting 48 percent from the field, hitting 10 of its 16 three-point shots. They made 13 of their 25 free throws.

In comparison, Kuna shot 38 percent from the field, hitting 10 of its 21 long balls. The Kavemen hit nine of 21 from the foul line.

Mountain Home won the battle of the boards, 36-15, with Jarek Schetzle bringing down 15 boards and Garrett McKenzie with eight.

Mountain Home 54, Caldwell 44

The Tigers picked up their first conference road win of the season Friday night, downing the Caldwell Cougars, 54-44, at Caldwell High School.

Mountain Home overcame an early 3-0 deficit, hitting three treys on its way to a 14-5 lead after a quarter. They led anywhere from seven to 12 points in the second quarter and took a 29-22 lead at halftime.

Caldwell managed to cut the margin to five points, 29-24, early in the third quarter, but a 12-4 run for the Tigers the rest of the quarter pushed the score to 41-28 after three.

Marcus Egusquiza's trey opened the fourth quarter, giving Mountain Home its biggest lead of the night. But the Cougars fought back to within six, 48-42, before the Tigers closed it out at the free throw line, hitting six of 12 down the stretch for the win.

"We still have things we need to get cleaned up, but it was a good road win for us," Coach Bethel said. "To be this late in the season, we have great team energy, and the guys work like it's tryouts or the beginning of the season. We are all really having fun. It's great to be a part of it."

Tyler Park and Jymon Garretson both scored in double figures for the Tigers. Park had 13 and Garretson added 11. Marcus Egusquiza added eight points, Jermaine Smith six, AJ Woodruff five while Garrett McKenzie and Jarek Schetzle added four each while Christen Riedel dropped in three to round out the scoring.

The Tigers shot 47 percent from the field, hitting six of their 18 long balls. They won despite shooting just 33 percent from the free throw line.

Meanwhile, Caldwell shot 31 percent from the field, hitting six of its 20 three-point shots. The Cougars made six of eight from the foul line.

With the wins, the Tigers improved to 13-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play. This ties them with Bishop Kelly for first, but having beat the Knights earlier in the season, it gives them the number one spot.

Mountain Home hopes to avenge a road loss at Skyview when they host the Hawks tonight, Feb. 4. The Tigers play at Bishop Kelly on Friday.