Springville Tigers Finish Season with Loss to Wenonah

Sports

February 19, 2010

By Joel Paris News-Aegis

Springville — The Springville Tigers were taken apart on Saturday afternoon by Wenonah, 107-46, on the road in the sub-regionals.

“That’s some of the best pressing defense that I’ve ever coached against,” Springville coach Jeff Smith said.

The Tigers starting point guard, Josh Gibson, played through the area tournament with a broken hand but could not go against Wenonah. “Without him, unfortunately we did not have a chance of getting through their press defense what-so-ever. I didn’t realize it was that good, I’ve never seen anything that strong. It took us completely out of the game. It was an ugly loss and we were just outmanned,” Smith acknowledged.

Looking back on the 19-11 season that produced another county championship and a playoff berth, Smith said he was proud of the way his team played in 5A and looks forward to competing in 4A next year with a bunch of experienced underclassmen. “We’re not going to have many seniors but next years’ junior class should be prepared mentally to play varsity basketball,” Smith said. “This will be the first time we’ve been 4A and we’ll get a lot closer to our level athletically.

“It’s been a joy to be at practice with these seniors and this team. They were a lot of fun and that’s about all you can ask for. They do what you ask them to do and they play their butts off and they have good attitudes. I was blessed with this group and for whatever it’s worth, I thank them for it.”