James Brady is a matchup problem for teams and is one reason the Tigerton boys basketball team is having one of its most successful seasons in program history.
The 6-foot, 10-inch junior scored 34 points Feb. 10 as the Tigers improved to 19-0 on the season with a 66-41 win over Amherst. Two days later, Brady and the Tigers clinched their second straight Central Wisconsin Conference-North championship with an 88-24 win over White Lake, the first of five straight home games for Tigerton to close out the regular season.
Amherst didn’t have an answer for Brady, as his 18 points in the first half helped the Tigers take a 28-15 lead into the locker room. Tigerton trailed 7-4 at one point early in the game but used a 16-0 run — including eight points from Brady — to take a 20-7 lead. The Falcons never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.
“With a good team like (Amherst), they want to play their game. They want to make sure that they get the shots that they want,” coach Dan Hoffa said. “We were able to speed them up a little bit, because we were able to get out early.”
Brady scored eight straight points for the Tigers in the second half during a 10-0 run that turned a 38-22 lead into a 48-22 advantage.
He was the only Tigerton player to score in double figures. Taylan McCormick and Colton Vander Laan led the Falcons with 18 and 14 points, respectively, and were two of only four Amherst players who scored.
“Obviously, it helps to have (Brady), but we had others contribute, and he was able to take over down the stretch,” Hoffa said. “That’s exactly what I told the guys. We needed to come out, take the lead and play from ahead. That’s what we did tonight.”
The Tigers headed into the game as the fifth-ranked team in Division 5 in the latest statewide poll, while the Falcons will compete in Division 3 in the upcoming WIAA state tournament.
“This was a big respect game for us,” Hoffa said. “We need to keep going out there and earning that respect. We’re starting to get this publicity, and I want to play under the radar. It’s kind of tough to do when you’re 18-0, now 19-0. Our mentality is 1-0. We don’t look ahead. We focus on tonight’s game.
“We needed a game like this to see exactly where we are,” Hoffa continued. “We’ve been blowing out teams by 30, 40 (points). We played Bowler the other night and we won by 40 or whatever, but we didn’t play well. There was a little bit of adversity among us, a little finger pointing because things weren’t going the way we wanted it to early. We didn’t jump out and control it from the get-go. We let them hang around a little bit. I thought we did a better job of that tonight. We let the game come to us and took what was there.”
Hoffa said his team’s win over the Falcons will help the Tigers’ cause when it comes to seeding for the state tournament.
“We definitely needed a game like this against a quality opponent to get our strength of schedule up,” he said. “This was a big win.”
Izaiah Lederhaus, right, guards Amherst’s Colton Vander Laan on Feb. 10 during Tigerton’s 66-41 win over the Falcons. (Greg Seubert)
Samuel Anheuser and the Tigerton Tigers improved to 19-0 on the season Feb. 10 with a 66-41 win over Amherst. (Greg Seubert)
Tanner Dent keeps his balance for Tigerton while playing defense. (Greg Seubert)
Brody Miller and the Tigerton Tigers clinched a second straight Central Wisconsin Conference-North boys basketball championship Feb. 12 with a home win over White Lake. (Greg Seubert)
