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By Dwayne McClellan
Staff Writer
newsstaff@earthlink.net
With only one returning starter and a lot of young, inexperienced players on the basketball court, wins for the Salem Tigers were sometimes hard to come by, as the team finished 7-19 overall and 1-6 in the SCA.
It was a team that at times had a starting lineup that featured one freshman and two sophomores.
But the Tigers played hard throughout the season and improved from the start of the season in November to a second-round appearance in the Class 4 District 9 tournament, coach Nic Zenker said.
Zenker was in his first year as Tigers coach. He said the season was frustrating and no one was happy with seven wins. But, he said he saw several positive steps toward a successful future.
"I learned that you can't always measure success in wins and losses," Zenker said." We went through a lot of youthful and inexperienced mistakes, but I think we learned from our mistakes and will be a better team because of that."
Zenker said the Tigers showed some potential when they played Waynesville, a district finalist, close twice, upset Owensville in the first round of the district tournament and were close in several games.
"We did a lot of good things and took several steps in the right direction," Zenker said.
Senior Phil Moser led the team in scoring with 395 points, with junior Johnathan Hambacker second at 242 and sophomore Jacob Kettner third with 141 points.
Hambacker led the team in rebounds with 117, while Moser had 80 and junior Jared Patterson 78.
The Tigers lose only two seniors, Moser and Andy Kissir. Zenker said Moser's offensive abilities and Kissir's work ethic and desire would be hard to replace. But he's confident in the players who are returning.
Several have already been working out on their own since the season ended.
"We're very excited about the group who will be coming back," Zenker said. "We've got seven kids coming back who at one point started a varsity basketball game.
But it's a group that will have to work a lot on their own in the off season since state rules limit the number of contact days coaches have with players to 25 over the summer, Zenker said.
"We need to get stronger in all phases of the game and take it one step at a time," Zenker said. "But I think we've got the returning players who can do this and build the program a little at a time."
Zenker said two sophomores, Jacob Kettner and Dustin Sercl, and freshman Jake Arzt, along with Hambacker, will be relied upon heavily.
"I think we've started the groundwork for a successful future, we just have to continue to work hard," Zenker said.
Season statistics
Jake Arzt-26-73, (10-38 3 pt.) 8-12 70, 2.3 average, 19 assists, eight steals, 35 rebounds.
CJ Davison-0-2 2-2 2, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 rebound.
Johnathan Hambacker-84-185 (6-18 3 pt.), 68-102, 242, 9.7 average, 27 assists, 26 steals, 12 blocked shots, 117 rebounds.
Jacob Kettner-54-107 (4-7 3 pt.), 29-43 141, 6.1 average, 42 assists, 23 steals, 9 blocked shots, 51 rebounds.
Andy Kissir-29-73 (0-1 3 pt.), 18-38 76 4.0 average, 8 assists, 26 steals, 72 rebounds.
Steven Morton-41-99 (1-5 3 pt.), 23-42 106, 4.4 average, 14 assists, 19 steals, 2 blocked shots, 25 rebounds.
Phil Moser-139-362( 69-186 3 pt), 48-71, 395, 16.5 average, 22 assists, 42 steals, 80 rebounds.
Jared Patterson-39-96 (0-1 3 pt), 18-30, 96, 4.0 average, 58 assists, 31 steals, 2 blocked shots, 78 rebounds.
Dustin Sercl-21-68 (6-33 3 pt.), 9-20, 57, 3.6 average, 8 steals, 9 assists, 1 blocked shot, 34 rebounds.
Ryan Settles-2-2 1-2 5, 2.5 average, 2 steals, 1 rebound.
Carson Sheppard-0-3 1-2, 1 point, 1 steal, 5 rebounds.
Dex West-43-118, 18-33, 104, 4.3 average, 43 assists, 36 steals, 1 blocked shot, 63 rebounds.
Team totals: 477-1,189, (95-294 3 pt), 243-397, 1,295, 49.8 average, 244 assists, 9.3 average, 226 steals, 8.7 average, 27 blocked shots, 560 rebounds, 21.5 average, 381 turnovers, 14.6 average, 333 fouls, 12.8 average.
JUNIOR VARSITY
The Salem Tigers' junior varsity ended the season with two wins in three games to finish with an 8-10 overall record, 5-1 in SCA competition.
Coach Carey Davison's team beat Ava 52-40 Feb. 19, lost to Licking 68-53 Feb. 18 and beat Houston 60-36 Feb. 17 in the Licking Junior Varsity tournament.
Against Ava, Salem outscored the visiting Bears in every quarter.
C.J Davison and Cody Harris led the Tiger scorers with 12 points each. Brady Floyd had 11 points, Carson Sheppard 10, Matt Sirois five and Chad Elliott two.
The Tigers led 10-9 at halftime and 26-22 at halftime.
"We started out a bit slow on offense but we shot well from the line," coach Davison said. "It seemed like our defense was there but not the intensity that we needed to be able to put the game away by halftime."
The big difference was in the third quarter when Salem outscored Ava 11-4 to lead 37-27 going into the fourth quarter.
"We stepped it up in the third quarter on defense and our offense started picking up the pace also," Davison said. "Having four guys in double figures (for the game) shows we moved the ball around to find open teammates."
The Tigers won the fourth period 15-14.
"I was proud of the guys for coming out and finishing the year with a win for our home crowd. We talked about how important it was to do that," Davison said. "All in all it was a good game to end on."
In the Houston win, Harris led all scorers with 20 points, 12 in the first half. Scoring 10 points each for Salem was Floyd and Elliott. Sheppard had nine points, CJ Davison seven, and Kutter Tiefenthaler and Sirois two each.
The Tigers led 11-8 after one quarter and 27-14 at halftime.
"We did a good job of putting lots of pressure on the dribblers and that created steals off bad passes," said Coach Carey Davison. "We pushed the ball up the floor a lot more this game to get some quick scores."
The Tigers had two players in double figures in the Licking loss.
C.J. Davison had 16 points and Sheppard 15. Floyd and Cody Harris had seven points each and Elliott and Sirois four each.
"I am so proud of these guys in this game, we tried to play through the type of play that was being allowed but it was too much," Davison said. "On any other night 53 points this season we would of won 12 of our games. Even with the tight play we still scored well."
The Tigers, behind Sheppard's 10 points, led the Wildcats 16-14 after one quarter. Licking then outscored Salem 18-15 in the second quarter to take a 32-31 lead at halftime.
"CJ (Davison) hit a 3-pointer right before half time to cut the lead to one and I really thought we would be able to come out the second half strong but the types of fouls called just stopped us," Davison said. "We had trouble getting the ball up the floor with defenders hanging and reaching on us."
The Wildcats then outscored the Tigers 19-10 in the third quarter and 17-12 in the fourth quarter for the final margin.
VARSITY PREVIOUS GAMES
TIGERS LOSE TO FULTON IN DISTRICT SEMIFINAL
The Salem-Fulton game in the semifinals of the Class 4 District 9 boys tournament was close at halftime, with the Hornets leading 30-21.
But the Hornets outscored the Tigers by eight points in the second half to take a 65-48 win Feb. 24 over the Tigers.
"You never want to be down at halftime, but in the first half we played pretty good defense," said Coach Nic Zenker. "If we would have rebounded a little better it could have been a lot closer."
The Tigers finished the season 7-19.
TIGERS UPSET DUTCHMEN 69-56 IN DISTRICT TOURNAMENT
Phil Moser and Johnathan Hambacker combined for 53 points, while Andy Kissir and Dex West had stellar defensive efforts on Owensville's Matthew Jett Feb. 23 in the Tigers' 69-56 upset win over the Dutchmen in the first round of the Class 3 District 9 tournament at Eldon.
Salem, 7-18, is the number six seed in a six-team tournament. Owensville was seeded third.
"We played with a lot of emotion, heart and desire," said coach Nic Zenker. "We didn't play like a team with 18 losses. We played like a team that wants to keep playing."
AVA TOO MUCH FOR SALEM IN 65-48 SCA LOSS
Salem coach Nic Zenker said the Tigers just dug themselves too big of a hole to get out of after trailing a "very good" Ava Bears team 22-7 after one quarter Feb. 22 after homecoming and senior night activities for the Tigers.
The game slowed down in the second quarter and the Tigers cut the deficit to eight points on two occasions in the third quarter. But Ava responded with a 10-0 run and went on to defeat the Tigers 65-48 to clinch an undefeated run (7-0) through the SCA.
THAYER COMES BACK
Thayer's 50-49 SCA win Feb. 10 in Salem was a tough SCA loss for the Salem Tigers and coach Nic Zenker to digest. The Tigers led a majority of the contest. The free throw line was kind to the visiting Bobcats. Thayer was 15-25 from the free throw line while Salem was only four of 11. The Tigers had a chance to either win or tie the game in regulation. But two, 3-point shots fell short in the final seconds. Phil Moser led Salem with 12 points and Jonathan Hambacker had 10.
EARLY DEFICIT TO MUCH FOR TIGERS TO OVERCOME IN 78-64 SCA LOSS TO WILLOW SPRINGS
The Salem Tigers' varsity basketball team just dug themselves into too big of a hole at the start of its SCA game Feb. 5 against Willow Springs in Salem.
Willow Springs offensive rebounding also played a key role in the Bears 78-64 win on a cold and snowy night in Salem.
With a winter storm in full blast, the game was originally moved to 6 p.m. However, it didn't start for about an hour-and-a-half later since the officials were having a difficult time getting to Salem from Potosi.
But once the game started, the visiting Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead and increased the margin to 13-1 in the opening minutes. The Tigers didn't get on the board until Phil Moser hit a free throw at the 6:43 mark. The Tigers didn't hit a field goal until he 4:05 mark when Steve Morton hit a shot.
The Tigers, 6-14 overall, 1-2 in the SCA, played better after that. But, the damage had been done.
TIGERS LEAD ALL THE WAY, DEFEAT ST. CLAIR 71-60
With their 71-60 win over St. Clair Feb. 3 in Salem, the Tigers didn't look like a team that was 5-13 entering the non-conference game.
What Salem fans saw was a Tiger team that used a rotating full-court press to create several St. Clair turnovers and Tiger steals, a tenacious half-court defense, a team that had only 11 turnovers and connected on 43 percent of its shots from the floor.
TIGERS BOUNCE BACK TO DEFEAT E.H. LYLE
The Salem Tigers held a 32-10 first-quarter lead over E.H. Lyle Academy Charter School Jan. 22 and coasted to a 77-39 win for seventh place in the 65th annual St. James tournament.
Salem, 5-10, was in the seventh place game after a 61-49 loss to Newburg Jan. 21.
Against E.H. Lyle, the Tigers had five players in double figures, led by Jonathan Hambacker with 15. Scoring 13 points each were Jake Arzt and Phil Moser, each with three, 3-point shots, Jared Patterson with 11 and Dustin
SALEM COMES CLOSE TO TOURNEY WIN
Salem battled back from a 13-point deficit in the first quarter but eventually fell to second-seeded and host St. James 67-59 Jan. 19 in the St. James Varsity Boys Basketball Tournament.
The Tigers pulled to within 41-40 by halftime, fueled by a 22-point effort in the second quarter by senior Phil Moser. He hit five three-point shots in the period.
TIGERS RALLY PAST HOUSTON 60-52 IN OT
The Salem Tigers saved their best for the end in a 60-52 overtime win at Houston Jan. 15 in the SCA opener for both teams. Salem led 4-0 early, but Houston responded with a 12-0 run. The Tigers were missing close-range shots and committing turnovers. Houston led by eight after one quarter and at halftime. The Tigers didn't get the lead back until late in the game. Jacob Kettner led Salem scorers with 14. Phil Moser had 12.
SALEM TROUNCES LICKING 67-45
Going into the fourth quarter Dec. 5 at Licking, the Salem Tigers' basketball team found themselves in unfamiliar ground with a 24-point lead over the Wildcats. The Tigers didn't waste that lead and went on to defeat Licking 67-45 for its second straight win in non-conference action. Salem had three players in double figures led by Dex West with 15, Cody Morton 14 and Phil Moser 12. Jacob Kettner and Jonathan Hambacker each had eight points.
TIGERS END MONTH-LONG DRY SPELL
Salem's 62-53 win over St. Joseph Benton Dec. 30 in the Rolla Holiday Tournament couldn't have came at a better time for a Tiger team that hadn't won since a 50-40 victory over West Plains Nov. 30 in Salem. Eight players scored, led by Phil Moser's 19 points.
WAYNESVILLE TOPS SALEM 60-46
Salem played Waynesville close for three of the four quarters Dec. 29, but the second quarter proved to be the team's downfall. Salem led 10-5 after the first quarter, a far cry from the 21-5 deficit the last time the two teams met Dec. 8 in Salem. But Waynesville roared back, outscored Salem 16-3 in the second quarter to take a 21-13 lead at halftime. Phil Moser led the Tigers with 21 points, including four 3-point shots.
ROGERS TOO TALL AN ORDER FOR SALEM
Salem Tiger coach Nic Zenker knew his team would have a difficult time against Rogers, Ark., Dec. 28 in the first round of the US Bank/Rolla Holiday basketball tournament. Rogers featured a lineup that went 6-8, 6-6, 6-6 and a school of more than 2,000 that played for the Arkansas state championship in class 7.
But the Tigers' didn't play scared, Zenker said. The first-year Salem coach said he saw a lot of positives in a 55-35 loss that wasn't decided until the fourth quarter. It was a game where Salem trailed by double digits early, 18 at halftime, then cut it to 10 in the third period.
TIGERS CAN'T PUT FOUR QUARTERS TOGETHER
Salem Tigers varsity basketball coach Nic Zenker says his team needs to put together four strong quarters and get more players to step up. The latest example was a 62-42 loss to Potosi Dec. 18 in Potosi. The Tigers were within striking distance in three of the four quarters. But Potosi outscored Salem 18-8 in the second quarter and went on to record the non-conference win.
SALEM FALLS TO ROLLA 71-40
The Rolla Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-0 lead before the Salem Tigers got a shot off and ran away with a 71-40 non-conference win Dec. 15 in Rolla.
Phil Moser finished as Salem's leading scorer with 19 points. Salem outscored Rolla 15-14 in the third quarter to trail 54-30 going into the final quarter. Rolla established the final margin by outscoring Salem 17-10 in the fourth period.
TIGERS TAKE 54-45 LOSS
The Salem Tigers' basketball team kept up with a much taller and experienced Pacific team most of the night before falling to the Four Rivers Conference team 54-45 Dec. 11 in Salem. It was a game that wasn't decided until the final seconds, as the Tigers came up with several loose basketballs down the stretch, and Phil Moser hit from the outside and Johnathan Hambacker added a pair of inside shots. Salem trailed 40-37 with just over four minutes left when the Indians went head 47-37. Freshman point guard Jake Arzt' field goal put Salem ahead 30-29 in the third quarter, but the Indians led 37-34 going into the final period.
WAYNESVILLE TOPS SALEM 65-54
The first half of the Salem-Waynesville varsity basketball game Dec. 8 in Salem, lost by the Tigers 65-54, was one Salem coach Nic Zenker and his team would like to forget. Waynesville scored the first nine points of the game, led 19-2 and finished the first period with a 21-5 lead. It was a little better in the second quarter, but Waynesville led 34-17 at halftime. But as bad as the first 16 minutes were, the second half was completely different. The shots started to fall, and the Tigers slowly chipped into the lead. With just over three minutes left, Salem was within 11.
TIGERS OFF TO 1-1 START
The Nick Zenker era and the 2009-2010 season got off to a rocky start Nov. 28 as the Tigers lost to Northwest House Springs 48-32 in Rolla.
Actually, the season got off to a pretty good start, with the Tigers leading 24-23 at halftime before Northwest picked them apart in the second half.
Then Salem turned what the first year-coach called a "very inconsistent" effort in its opener into a start to finish "ton of passion" in its home opener Nov. 30, as the Tigers beat West Plains 50-40.
Salem literally turned the tables. Against Northwest it scored just eight points in the second half. Against West Plains, the Tigers outscored the Zizzers 25-11 in the first half.
Against West Plains, junior Jonathan Hambacker scored 19 points on seven of nine shooting and grabbed eight rebounds. Phil Moser scored 14 points, and Steven Morton, Jared Patterson and Ryan Settles each had four.
Against Northwest, Moser led with 12 points and Morton had eight. Jake Arzt, and Dex West had four each.
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TENNIS PREVIEW: Two of six starters return from stellar team
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By Dwayne McClellan
Staff Writer
newsstaff@earthlink.net
The Salem Tigers' tennis team may have a rough start to the season, but appears to have a lot of balance and competition for starting spots this year, according to Coach William Hubbs.
It's a team that will continue to improve and be better at the end of the season, he said.
Hubbs has only two full-time starters back, Phil Moser, who was the team's number one singles player last year, and Steven Morton, a junior. He also has Andrew Leubbert, senior, and Arthur Rekowski, junior, who saw some varsity action in 2009.
The Tigers were 9-2 a year ago, fourth in the district tournament and advanced to the regional round of the state playoffs for only the second time in school history.
"But we lost four of our six starters, so it may be a little rough in the beginning until we get our feet under us," Hubbs said.
The season starts March 30 in Salem.
Last year Moser finished fifth in the district and Morton medaled in the Mexico Tournament and was "pretty steady" throughout the year, said Coach William Hubbs.
"It's nice to have that experience back," Hubbs said.
After Moser and Morton, Hubbs has several players to fill in the remaining spots. He said this year's team has a lot of balance and the competition for starting positions has been good.
After Leubbert and Rekowski, the Tigers have three seniors, a junior, one sophomore and two freshmen fighting for starting positions. They are Patrick Witbrod, Curt May, Chantel Ashley and Houlie Ibrahim, seniors; Rachel Arts, junior; Evan Parsons, sophomore and Matt Sirois and Emily Moser, freshmen.
"We may not be as talented starting this year as we were at this time last year, but we have a lot of good competition," Hubbs said. "I think we'll have a lot of balance and good competition as the season goes along.
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GOLF PREVIEW: Top three returning, battle expected for other positions
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By Dwayne McClellan
Staff Writer
newsstaff@earthlink.net
It may be early, but Tiger golf coach Clay Moody is expecting good things from his top three golfers: Connor Stroburg, junior; Ben Adams, sophomore and Zach Pogue, junior.
"We've been playing young kids so long they've been maturing and should be able to reap the benefits," Moody said.
Practice sessions started March 1. The season opener is scheduled for March 30 in Salem. The season runs through May 6. The home meets are March 30 and April 8. The SCA match is April 30 in Houston.
The top three golfers are returning, with Stroburg having the most experience, playing on the varsity team since he was a freshman. Connor is a three-time varsity starter having medaled in several meets last year. He was the team's number one golfer a year ago.
Stroburg had the top average last year with a 43-44 average. He was also named the team's MVP.
"Having those two years experience under his belt will really help his confidence, which should result in better scores and a better team," Moody said.
Moody said the top three have improved and have gotten stronger from a year ago, thus his higher expectations from them. Stroburg and Adams also have a good chance to advance out of district, Moody said.
"They need to play like they're capable of," Moody said. "They too will also benefit from that year's experience."
Stroburg, Adams and Pogue appear to be the top three on a five-man team. Five golfers participate in a meet, with the top four scores counted toward the team's score.
After the top three, it's a free for all as to who will take the remaining two spots, Moody said. However, he says he has plenty to choose from.
That list includes sophomores C.J. Davidson, who had some varsity experience a year ago, Adam Wood, Dillon Sisco and Nathan Davidson, and Alan Benowitz, a freshman.
Moody said one of the team's goals is to have two golfers medal this year.
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