With one game remaining, Tigers still seeking a win

As the Mountain Home Tigers headed into this week's final game of the regular season at Caldwell, they were hoping to do something they haven't been able to do all season -- win a game. The Tigers dropped two more games last week, losing at home to Columbia, and on the road at Nampa.

Columbia 58, Mountain Home 44

A cold shooting first half forced Mountain Home to play catch up the rest of the night -- not a game they have been successful at this season -- as Columbia extended the Tigers' losing streak to 18 this year and 28 over the past two years. The Wildcats left town with a 58-44 win Thursday night in Lloyd Schiller Gymnasium.

The Tigers came out frigid cold, hitting just one of 10 shots in the first quarter, as they trailed 14-4 after a quarter. They hit just three more of 24 attempts by halftime and trailed 25-10.

Columbia enjoyed its biggest lead of the night, 37-12, with 2:26 left in the third quarter before the Tigers finally started hitting some shots and rallied.

Mountain Home trailed 40-23 after three, but battled back to within seven, 50-43, with 2:01 left in the game. From there the Wildcats hit six of eight from the free-throw line and pulled away for a 58-44 win.

"It's kind of the same song and dance every night, you know," said Tiger coach Brion Bethel of the poor start his Tigers had against Columbia.

"The kids come out and played hard. We just get ourselves in a rut right out of the chute and have to fight to get back in it the rest of the game. But the kids, they just work so hard, they execute plays well, they work so dang hard, they give us their heart and soul, so all I can do is commend them for working hard and hopefully some shots start falling."

Michael Daniels and Doug Long both scored 12 points against Columbia. Cristian Riedel and Tyler Senger both added five, Tyler Elliott added four, and Jeremy Hopper, Jose Rodriguez and Jarek Schetzle each scored two.

The Tigers ended the night shooting 28 percent, hitting five of 23 three-point attempts. They shot 58 percent from the free-throw line.

Columbia shot 40 percent from the field, making three of 13 of its treys. They went to the free-throw line 32 times, converting on 17 of them for 53 percent.

The taller Wildcats, whose starters stand between six-feet, two inches, and six-feet, seven-inches, won the battle on the boards, 42-31. Jose Rodriguez led Mountain Home with 10 rebounds.

Nampa 64, Mountain Home 34

Turnovers hurt the Tigers Friday night at Nampa as the Bulldogs capitalized on the Mountain Home miscues for a 64-34 win.

Mountain Home stayed close in the first quarter and trailed 12-8 after one, but 11 second-quarter turnovers helped the Bulldogs stretch their lead to 29-17 at the half.

Michael Daniels hit a three-pointer to start the third quarter. It was the only one of eight shots that made it through the hoop in the third period for the Tigers, who committed seven more turnovers and trailed 43-23 after three.

The Nampa lead hit 30 points, 59-29, on a trey by Armando Banda with 3:13 left in the game, which made the clock continue to run the rest of the way under the mercy rule. The Bulldogs won 64-34.

"It's one of those nights we couldn't get the kids motivated, and it was by far not our best performance, that's for sure," said Coach Bethel after the game.

"We seemed a little flat tonight, and we as coaches didn't do a good enough job as far as motivating the kids and getting them ready."

Michael Daniels led the Tigers with 11 points. Doug Long added seven points, Jeremy Hopper and Jose Rodriguez both scored five, Cristian Riedel four and Devin Wright two.

Mountain Home shot just 29 percent from the field, hitting just two of 15 on treys. The team shot 50 percent from the free-throw line.

Nampa shot a sizzling 57 percent from the field, hitting six of 13 three-pointers. They shot 73 percent from the foul line.

Nampa edged the Tigers on the boards, 22-20. Jose Rodriguez led Mountain Home with six rebounds. Doug Long had five.

The loss drops the Tigers to 0-15 in conference and 0-19 on the season. They closed out their regular season schedule on Tuesday at Caldwell, needing to beat the Cougars by four or more points to keep their season going.

There are nine teams in the conference, with only eight advancing to the district tournament. Caldwell is 1-14 in league play. Their only conference win was a 47-44 win over the Tigers in Mountain Home on Jan. 11.

If the Tigers beat Caldwell, they would both tie for the eighth spot, and the tie-breaker would be head-to-head competition. That means the Tigers need to win by four or more points to take the eighth seed.

"We've got ourselves a one-game season. That's what it boils down to -- that one game," Coach Bethel said. "Hopefully, we can do a good enough job getting the kids prepared for that game and get them motivated enough to play, so we can give a better performance than we gave tonight against Nampa."