<I>The Eagle/Luke Johnson</I><BR>Josh Ewings shoots over a defender against Mt. Bachelor.

MONUMENT – The Monument/Dayville boys had momentum in the first half against Mt. Bachelor the night of Nov. 30 in Monument. Unfortunately they couldn’t sustain it.

The Tigers held a 16-11 lead with 3:18 left to play in the second quarter. Mt. Bachelor then seized the momentum through several steals and blocked shots which they converted to fast break points on the other end to take a 21-17 lead at half-time.

The second half Monument/Dayville made several runs at the lead but just couldn’t quite dig out of the hole they were in. The Tigers, to their credit, fought tooth and nail to the very last second of the game before falling, 35-50 to the Bulldogs. Every time the Tigers made a run at the lead, Mt. Bachelor would come up with a timely basket to maintain control.

When the Monument/Dayville players hit a cold shooting streak in the third quarter, it was too much to overcome and the game slipped out of their grasp.

When the game came to a close, the home crowd applauded the effort from the Tiger boys and then patted them on the back as they left the gym.

The Tigers returned only one senior this year.

Monument/Dayville head coach Cody Cole was encouraged by the effort his team gave and commended them afterward.

“We are very young this year,” said Cole, “but we had some young guys step up big for us tonight. Unfortunately we just couldn’t get the win. I honestly think we played very hard, but it’s the first time a lot of these young players have been out there when the game is on the line. It was good for them to get out there though, and feel what it’s like.”

The next challenge for the Tigers comes Dec. 8 when they travel to Fossil for a tournament.