Waddie Love (25) and A.J. Kuster (23) combine forces to deny a Rawlins Outlaw a chance at 2 points last Tuesday. The Tigers beat the Rawlins Junior Varsity team 46-41.
A,J. Kuster and Kyle Wessel block a Rawlins JV player from making a bucket.
The 3A Rawlins Outlaws came to play the 1A Encampment Tigers (6-1), (2-0) last Tuesday night in a game that proved the Tigers could hang with anyone. Rawlins is a much bigger school than Encampment but that didn’t phase the Tigers.
“It’s always the same,” head coach Dan Kraft said before the game. “We’ve got to play defense and rebound. It’s our strength and we’ve got to keep doing it every game.”
The first quarter was physical, and the Tigers came out a little lack-luster against the Outlaws’ strong man-to-man defense. The shots weren’t falling for the Tigers, and the score showed after the first quarter with the Encampment team only up by 10-7.
“Till we see what were up against, well stick to our plan,” Kraft said. “We may have to make adjustments at half, depending on if they have shooters. We may have to lock on to them, play them straight and see how it goes,”
The Outlaws were a shooting team, and into the second quarter they gave Encampment a run for their money.
The referees kept their whistles hot, calling fouls on both sides. The Tigers saved their stripes in the second quarter at the foul line with Waddie Love, A.J. Kuster and Kyle Wessel all shooting good percentages to the half.
The Tigers shot 68 percent from the line with 15 of 22 free throws falling on the night. Kuster shot 3-4, Wessel shot 4-7 and Pantle was 4-5 from the line, keeping the Tigers aloft.
The score reflected the aggressive pace of the game at half time with the Tigers up by only two going into the locker room 22-20.
Encampment started the second half fast, spurred by Wessel’s performance under both hoops. Gaven Pantle and Harold Jackson kept the arc under control, but A.J. Kuster had a monster third quarter that proved the senior is truly leading his team in all areas of play. Kuster finished the night with 17 points and 10 rebounds and several blocked shots.
“I think that everyone needs to keep playing to the full potential,” Kuster said. “I’ve been working my butt off down low, and if we just keep doing it as a team, we’ll be more successful and we’ll be winning by more than three points a game.”
“Kuster is really aggressive in the paint,” Kraft said. “When he asserts himself he’s hard to stop. When he goes to the hoop instead of fading away he’s more affective at drawing fouls.”
Wessel kept the pace, shooting well from the line and finishing the night with 14 points.
“Kyle is turning out to be a solid offensive player consistently coming up with double digits,” Kraft said.
The effort from the Tigers was good all around, and everyone stepped up against the Outlaws to come away with the victory, beating a school in the 3A division 46-41.
Encampment did not fair as well in their next game against Hayden on the road, coming away with a 47-62 loss.
The Encampment team started out playing well leading after the first quarter 15-12. The pace of the game was a little more hectic and that made it hard for the refs to differentiate who was committing fouls.
“Kyle Wessel and A.J. Kuster got into foul trouble early with good, aggressive play but all of our size was on the bench early,” Kraft said. “Kuster was out in the first half with foul trouble, and he didn’t play again until four minutes remaining in the fourth. That made it tough.”
Kyle Wessel led the scoring with 20 points and kept Encampment in the game. Wessel shot 9 for 15 from the field.
Love kept the Tiger defense together guarding the big Hayden player.
“Waddie Love did a great job of guarding their big kid,” Kraft said. “The kid was six foot two inches tall and Love kept him in check the whole time.”
Love had nine rebounds and 8 points on the night.
Hayden had one shooter that hit some very deep threes, and Encampment had a tough time getting shots from outside the arc to fall.
When the Tigers matched Harold Jackson up with Hayden’s best shooter, Jackson held him to three points in the second half after the Hayden player scored 11 in the second quarter alone.
“The boys came away from the Hayden game pretty positive,” coach Kraft said. “It was a good learning experience.”
Up next is the Valley rivalry with the Panthers at home Thursday at 8 p.m.
“We have to get ready,” Kraft said. “We’re expecting a tough game, and we have to guard them well and take care of the basketball.”
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