Titan boys fall to West Central, bounce back with win over Jefferson
Last week the Tea Area High School boys’ basketball team split two road games, falling to West Central on Feb. 6 (67-52) and defeating Sioux Falls Jefferson on Feb. 8 (60-48).
“The win vs. Jefferson was big for us mentally, because we had been going through the mid-season blues and we played as if we were desperate for a win. Overall, it was one of our best defensive performances of the season and we did a tremendous job against all of their size,” said Titan head coach Drew Weber. “We were much more efficient offensively and didn’t lean on the three point shooting much, which is something that we have really been striving to improve. We are still in the midst of a brutal stretch of our schedule, but we still have all of the pieces to get a few more wins and set ourselves up nicely for the postseason.”
In the win over Jefferson, three Titans were in double figures. Grifin Wiebenga led the way with 18 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals. Gavin Shawd scored 14 points, grabbed three rebounds and had three steals. Marshall Smythe had 12 points, four rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Jaxson Merrigan provided seven points, eight rebounds, four assists and one steal. Rylan Norris scored five points and Kayden Williamson finished with four points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
On Feb. 6 the team faced off against a strong West Central team. Tea Area took a one point lead at the half, leading 28-27 but West Central used a 19-8 fourth quarter to hand the Titans the 67-52 loss.
For Tea Area, Smythe scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds, had six assists and two steals. Wiebenga had 16 points, four rebounds, and one assist. Merrigan finished with nine points, six rebounds, and two steals. Shawd finished with three points, four rebounds, one assist and one steal. Cole McKinney had two points in the game.
The Titans will host Sioux City East on Friday, Feb. 14 in double header action with the Titan girls. The Titan boys are scheduled to tip-off at 8 p.m. and the Titan girls will tip-off at 6:30 p.m.
The Tea Area boys will be at home again on Tuesday, Feb. 18 when they host Brandon Valley.