Tigers snap losing skid against Warriors

STE. GENEVIEVE — A scorching shooting performance and suffocating defense in the first half set the tone in Ste. Genevieve on Tuesday night as the Arcadia Valley Tigers cruised past the Valle Warriors, 69-47.

Arcadia Valley (6-6) snapped a four-game losing streak and evened its conference mark at 2-2 with the win, highlighted by 21 turnovers forced on defense. Valle (2-9) dropped to 1-3 in league play.

The Tigers seized control from the opening tip with a 9-0 scoring run over the first 4:50 of action. Dustin Royer started the streak with a baseline jumper and followed it with a three-pointer from the right wing.

Kyle Basler finally got Valle on the board with a three-pointer from straight away, but Jake Yarbrough promptly answered at the other end with his first of four triples on the night. Yarbrough came off the bench to lead all scorers with 20 points.

A 14-0 run by Arcadia Valley which carried over from the opening period pushed the margin to 30-5 early in the second. Royer then scored five straight points, including an well-timed leaping tip to extend it to 37-9.

The Warriors began to establish an interior passing game late in the first half, resulting in close-range baskets by Keith Basler and Adam Hermann, but the Tigers still held a lofty 42-13 advantage at the break.

The Tigers did not employ the full-court press in the second half, leading to a more methodical tempo which seemed to benefit the home team. The Warriors cut into their deficit with a 10-2 run to open the third quarter.

After two straight entry passes led to baskets by Basler, Sean Odneal scored on a putback to make the score 44-23. Valle drew to within 20 late in the stanza, but Logan Smith dialed up a long three-pointer in the closing seconds to keep the Tigers comfortably ahead at 51-28.

Aggressive physical play led to a broken flow of play and plenty of fouls throughout the fourth quarter. Royer scored two more of his 18 points with a clean steal and layup which sparked a 7-0 run by the Tigers to spread the difference to 28 points.

Valle avoided a potential running clock by continuing to battle down the stretch. Basler hit a tough fade-away jumper while drawing a foul, and Hermann scored after rebounding the ensuing missed free throw to make it a 65-44 game with 2:00 left.

Basler led Valle in points with 14 and nearly completed a double-double with nine rebounds. Free-throw shooting was a negative for both clubs as neither eclipsed 50 percent from the stripe.

Both teams will resume conference action at home on Friday night. Arcadia Valley will host Kingston while Valle entertains Valley.

Arcadia Valley 69, Valle 47

Arcadia Valley – 23 19 9 18 – 69

Valle – 5 8 15 19 – 47

SCORING:

Arcadia Valley – J Yarbrough 20, D Royer 18, L Smith 12, N Benz 4, J Franklin 4, J Brawley 4, W Spitzmiller 3, B Dunivan 2, B Scoggin 2.

3-pointers – J Yarbrough 4, L Smith 2, D Royer 1.

Valle – K Basler 14, S Odneal 10, A Hermann 8, K Basler 7, B Sexauer 4, N Grass 3, D Rozier 1.

3-pointers – S Odneal 2, K Basler 1.