Rich Hill vs Adrian
In the second round of the Archie Tournament on last Thursday night the Rich Hill Tigers met the Adrian Blackhawks for third time this season, in the winner’s bracket. The Tigers had advanced by defeating the Warsaw Wildcats while the Blackhawks defeated the Hume Hornets earlier in the week. In the two previous meetings this year Rich Hill had fallen twice, so were hoping for a different outcome this time around.
In the first quarter the Tigers were hoping to get off to a fast start but early turnovers and cold shooting made for an uphill battle. After the early part of the quarter got out of the Tigers system the team was able to regroup and battle back to just a five point deficit at the end of the first which found the Blackhawks with a 20-15 lead. In the second frame Rich Hill proved they were ready to play but again shots wouldn’t fall like they would have hope and The Adrian team took control of the boards to gain the advantage. The Tigers found themselves trailing at the half 33-45. The second half started with the Tigers making half time adjustments but early turnovers allow the deficit to grow to more than twenty points. About half way through the third quarter, Rich Hill found a new stride and kicked it into a different gear and were able to close the gap to within ten points. Even with all their might the Tigers could not quite get over the hump and trailed 52-70.The final quarter of the game was played evenly with both teams scoring 15 points each. As the final buzzer sounded the final score was Rich Hill Tigers 67 Adrian Blackhawks 85. The Tigers would head to the 3rd place game on Saturday afternoon to meet the Archie Whirlwinds and Adrian would head to the Championship game to meet the Butler Bears.
The Rich Hill Tigers placed four players in double figure for scoring for the game. Leading the Tigers was Sage Bolser with 23 points, Brady Querry and Clifton Bridgewater with 13 apiece, Lucas Harwood with 10,Bryce Yohe 5 and Daylen Walton 3. Clifton Bridgewater lead the team in rebounding with 7,Sage Bolser 6 and Brady Querry 5. The Tigers went 8-9 from the free throw line. With the loss the Tigers season record fell to 7-11.
Rich Hill vs Archie
In the third place game of the 90th Archie Invitational Tournament the Rich Hill Tigers met the Archie Whirlwinds on their home court on Saturday afternoon. In last year’s tournament the Tigers and the Whirlwinds met in the Consolation game with Rich Hill coming out on top in that contest. This would be the first time these two WEMO Conference opponents would meet this year. For the second game in a row the Tigers got off to a slow start allowing the Whirlwinds to build an early lead. Early in the quarter Archie held a 7-0 lead. After Rich Hill took a timeout and made some defensive changes, the Tigers slowly climbed back into the game and were trailing 13-24. Foul trouble slowed the Tigers down in the second quarter as Rich Hill turned up the defensive pressure and were able to hold the Whirlwinds to just 10 points while scoring 15 points of their own. The Tigers were able to close the gap to just five points and at the half the Tigers were 29 and Whirlwinds 34. Early third quarter turnovers hurt the Tigers and the deficit grew but they never gave up and would find themselves down just two points after three frames. In the fourth quarter the Tigers were able to finally pull even only to see the Whirlwind hit a couple of treys to keep Rich Hill at bay. With time running out the Tigers sent the Whirlwinds to the line where they hit 11-14 free throws which sealed the fate of the game. The final score was Rich Hill 65 Archie 75. The Tigers slow starts hurt the team during the tournament but offensively the team showed what they are capable of. Turnovers and rebounding also hurt the team but the overall effort of the team is improving. Archie will travel to Rich Hill on Friday night for a rematch during the regular schedule conference games
With the lost the Tigers drop to 7-12 for the season. The Tigers were lead in scoring by Sage Bolser with 22 points, Clifton Bridgewater 18, Brady Querry 13,Magal Chol 7, Bryce Yohe 3 and Daylen Walton 2. Rich Hill was lead in rebounding by Sage Bolser 11 and Clifton Bridgewater added 5.
The next contest for the Tigers will be Tuesday night at home against the Jasper Eagles starting at 5:30 with a ½ JV girls game, ½ JV boys, Varsity Girls and Varsity boys contest. Always check the school website or school office for official starting times