Izzie Hayes/Staff Writer
After two big wins against the Linn-Mar Lions and Waterloo East Trojans, the expectations of the Tiger men’s basketball team are increasing.
The game on Friday, Dec. 16, started off slow for the Tigers. “It was a good game. We started off a little sluggish but came back in the second half with more energy,” junior guard Kalund Brown said.
Senior James Harrington led the Tigers in scoring both nights. Harrington recorded 19 against East, and a season-high 24 against Linn-Mar, outscoring North Carolina-bound Marcus Paige.
Linn-Mar took the Tigers to overtime Tuesday night, but Cedar Falls remained unfazed and won the game on Harrington’s free throws with only a second to play.
The next game for the Tigers is Tuesday, Dec. 20, at 7:30 p.m. at Cedar Falls High School against Iowa City West. The Tigers are excited about getting to play a team like the Trojans at home, and are hoping that Cedar Falls will be a hostile environment Tuesday night. Iowa City West is undefeated and ranked first in the state. City West gave Linn-Mar its first loss of the season before the Tigers got ahold of them.
The Tigers haven’t lost since their first game of the season at Dubuque Senior, increasing the pressure to keep the winning streak going.
“We will be working on a game plan for them, and based upon that, we have to work on shutting down [Iowa City West’s] penetration,” Brown said.
However with multiple players out on injury and sickness, the team struggles with having size in the posts. Junior Zach Harvey, a 6-foot-8-inch post, is out with an elbow injury but hopes to return Tuesday night for the Iowa City West game. Harvey has x-rays Monday night to decide if he can get back to playing. The Tigers have really missed Harvey’s size down low. “I’m really excited to get back on the court,” Harvey said.
“It’s hard missing a bunch of guys. We are a little undersized, but we didn’t make any excuses and just went out and played our game,” Brown said.
The boys are taking it one game at a time, but their ultimate goal is to get to State and bring home the hardware.
“We just need to keep working on team chemistry and so we can get to the championship,” junior forward Ike Boettger said.
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