The Taylor Ducks lost to the Smithville Tigers 59-54 on their home court Friday night, which dropped their record to 1-3 in district play.
Ducks head coach Stephen Gibson said Friday’s loss was very frustrating because he knows how good his team is, they just have to put it together.
“We got the fuel, we are just not starting the fire,” Gibson said. “I really don’t know what to say other than that. I am out of words for it.”
The game started slow for the Ducks as they fell into a 12-3 hole early, but the Ducks defense started to tighten up, which led to offense. The Ducks would go on an 8-0 run to end the first quarter to cut the Tigers lead to 12-11 heading into the second quarter.
The Ducks picked up right where they left off in the second quarter, extending that 8-0 run to 16-0 to take a 19-12 lead. The Tigers would not back down though, and were to cut the lead to 23-21 heading into the break.
The Tigers started the third quarter catching the Ducks on their heels a bit and tying the game early in the half. Despite the strong surge of pints from the Tigers, the Ducks managed to hang onto a 41-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Tigers and Ducks found themselves tied at 50-50 early in the fourth quarter. The Tigers took over the game down the stretch outscoring the Ducks 9-4 to win the game 59-54.
Gibson was not pleased that his team let the Tigers back into the game and said his team is still struggling with being consistent.
“We gave up 17 offensive rebounds and believe it or not we do these things in practice and we do it right I guess it is the lights of the game that makes them struggle,” Gibson said. “Not taking anything away from Smithville, they played really well, but they are not a better team than Caldwell. We can beat both of them.”
With a chip on their shoulder, the Ducks season presses on with their next game Tuesday, Jan. 17, when they travel to Austin Achieve to try to get back on track in district play.
Ducks junior Treos Richardson swats the ball away from a Tigers player attempting an easy layup.
Photo by Larry Pelchat
Ducks senior Anthony Cottrill fighting through contact from Tigers’ defenders for a layup.
Photo by Larry Pelchat
