Tigers Win In Convincing Fashion at Home

Sharon Eagles vs Taunton Tigers

​           THS won the opening tip, scored the first points of the game and never looked back. Led by Jr. F Dante Law (#24), the Tigers started the game on a 21-0 run. As good as their team defense was, their offense to start the game was even more efficient. Law led all scorers in the game with 21 pts with Sr. F Wesner Charles (#21)  pouring in 12 pts. Taunton High defeats the Sharon Eagles 72-34.

          It's hard to present a back and forth narrative when one team controls the tempo for a majority of the game. Their great ball movement led to some easy shots early as they started the game on a 9-0 run before the Eagles had to call a timeout. Along with Law, Jr. G Naz Kenion (#3) handled most of the offensive load early to get THS going. As strong as the Tigers defense was, the Eagles simply couldn't buy a bucket, even missing wide open lay-ups under the rim. On the opposite side it felt as if THS couldn't miss to start the 1st with Kenion even making a crazy reverse lay-up with his back to the rim to give the Tigers a 19-0 with 2:00 left in the 1st. They ended the qtr with a steal by Charles who ran up the court for an emphatic one handed dunk that got the crowd on its' feet to give THS a 25-3 lead.

            By comparison the Tigers started the 2nd qtr a bit slower than the 1st but their defensive effort and communication was fun to watch. The Eagles started the 2nd hitting the first few shots of the qtr to make it 27-9 with about 6:00 left. But by that point it was Sr. G Lou Vendrells' (#1) time to shine as he hit a 3 then had a strong take to the rim to make the score 39-13 with about 1:36 left in the 1st half. Kenion made 1 of 2 FTs to end the 1st half which gave the Tigers a 27 pt lead, their biggest of the game thus far. They end the 1st half on an 8-0 run and the score is 40-13 going into halftime.

           The Tigers started the 3rd with some great ball movement to find Charles for easy lay-ups on three straight possessions to make it 46-14 2 minutes into the qtr. They started the qtr a bit slowly on defense though, as Eagles Jr. G/F Aidan Kane (#4) was fouled shooting, missed both FTs and the Eagles got the OREB. The ball made its' way back to Kane and he was fouled again, but made 1 of 2 this time. Halfway through the 3rd though their intensity picked back up as Sr. G John Martins (#4) made a great steal, ran the fast break and had a nice behind the back pass to Law who finished at the rim to make it 50-19. The Tigers closed the qtr out with a corner 3 from Sr. G Michael Quinn (#2) who pushed the lead to 41 pts making it 62-21.

            With the game in hand the Tigers still showed great ball movement and didn't relent on defense. But by that point the 4th felt as superfluous as hitting the treadmill after leg day at the gym. With about 2:20 left in the game Sr. F Krishon Nairne made a quick move baseline on his defender and followed that with a nice two handed jam which made it 70-32. The crowd roared one last time and the THS bench joined in on the fun and I thought I heard someone say "I didn't know he could do that". It was an awesome capper to an awesome game and the Tigers will look to carry this momentum into their next match.

           The final score was 72-34 Tigers as they won their 3rd straight game. Their next game will be this Friday, January 11th on the road against the Franklin Panthers (5-3).

Jason Delgado

Jason is a Taunton Alum and sports journalist covering home games and meets at Taunton High School.