A Back and Forth Battle Ends in Tigers Victory - Boys Basketball

In a game that saw both teams go on multiple runs, it was The Tigers who once again came out victorious

     The Tigers came out swinging in this game looking to bury King Philip's early. They had as much as a 12 pt lead in the 2nd qtr but the Warriors went on a run of their own going into halftime to cut the deficit to as little as two points. The Warriors were buoyed by Jr. G Alex Fritz (#33) who led all scorers with 22 pts. THS' Sr. G Michael Quinn (#2) led the charge for the Tigers with 21 pts, followed  by Sr. G John Martins (#4) and Jr. G Naz Kenion (#3) pouring in 12 and 11 pts respectively. The game was tied going into the 4th but the Tigers outscored the Warriors in the final qtr 16-9 to win the game 59-52.

    THS got things going quickly as Martins found So. F Tyler Stewart (#30) in the post as he made a nice turnaround hook shot 45 seconds into the game. But King Phillips Sr. G Tyler Nault (#3) matched that as he took and made a mid range jumper falling to his left to tie it up about two minutes in. Later in the qtr with a little under three minutes left, Martins had a strong drive to the rim which should've ended in an And1 call but they ruled that the foul occurred before he went up which I initially questioned. In the long run it didn't matter much as they inbounded the ball to Martins and he hit a three from the top of the key to make it 12-7 with 2:31 left to play in the 1st. King Phillips Sr. F Bruce Saintilus (#21) made a strong move to the rim and finished to bring the game within three points, but Quinn answered on the other end with a dribble-drive floater in the paint to make it 14-9 to end the 1st qtr.
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    Once again THS started the qtr on fire as Jr. F Dante Law (#24) found a cutting Kenion who finished at the rim. On the Tigers next trip up the court Kenion was the recipient of another pass, this time on a fast break, which he made the lay-up to put THS up 21-9, forcing King Phillips to call a timeout about a minute into the qtr. It was then the Warriors turn to go on a run as Fritz scored on back to back possessions on two very similar plays where he took two dribbles past the three point line, stopped on a dime, and pulled up for mid-range jumpers which he connected on. After Saintilus made two FTs at the 5:34 mark in the 2nd, the next three times the Warriors scored was on corner threes, which Coach Dacey was none to pleased with. The Tigers finished off the qtr strong though as Law slashed to the rim to make it 31-27 and with about 45 seconds left he made a great pass to a cutting Quinn who finished it with a floater to go into halftime 33-27.

    The theme of the night continued as the Tigers started the 3rd on another run as Quinn was fouled taking a three 41 seconds into the qtr, in which he made all three FTs. At the 6:08 mark, Quinn then took a three around the top of the key that seemed a bit forced, but he made regardless (shot clock was winding down, but he had about six seconds when he took the shot) to make it 39-30 Tigers. But if you guessed the Warriors would go on a run of their own, you would be correct as they ended the qtr on a 13-4 run. Fritz and Saintilus combined for 11 of the final 13 pts the Warriors scored in the qtr. With about 26 seconds left, Quinn had a great offensive rebound put-back where he never came back down with the ball, but Fritz hit a three with about 13 seconds left making it 43-43 going into the 4th.
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    The final qtr saw THS more engaged defensively as Quinn and Sr. F Wesner Charles (#21) took charges and Law had a great block on Fritz as he was taking that step back jumper that had been working all night. Martins scored the first six points of the qtr, the sixth of which he made at the FT line, but on the attempt he got fouled on he seemed to twist his ankle and he was taken out of the game after his FT attempts. With 2:38 to go in the qtr, Sr. G Lou Vendrell (#2) made a bullet pass to Kenion who finished in the paint and Kenion also had a put back off an offensive rebound on the next possession to make it 53-45 with 2:13 to go. Quinn hit a huge three coming out of a timeout with about 56 seconds left putting THS up 11 but Saintilus matched him about 12 seconds later making it 56-48. The game was essentially over at that point as THS was playing good defense without fouling and the last four points King Phillips scored were cheapies as the final score was 59-52 Tigers.
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    A few defensive lapses aside, THS played another great game tonight, and it shows as they never trailed in this game. With Quinn taking a charge late in the 4th, that essentially sealed the Tigers win as they get their 12th victory of the year. Their next game is this Friday, February 8th, against the Franklin Panthers. Tip-off is at 6:30.

Jason Delgado

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