PRAIRIE CITY The Dayville/Monument Tiger boys playing at the Prairie City Panther court was a guarantee for full-throttle basketball action last week, with the Tigers winning 57-42.

What more do you expect out of a rivalry game? Panther coach Mark Woodbury said of the action. There was a lot of emotion and intense play.

The Panthers had the first scoring opportunity, a free throw to put 1 point on the board, and then the Tigers lit up the scoreboard with 9 points.

A technical foul called on a Tiger player in the latter half of the first quarter sent Garrett Lovell to the free-throw line, and he went 2-2.

The teams went back and forth in scoring into the second quarter. The Tiger lead was boosted by a 3-pointer from Colten Winters, who followed up with another 2 points on a fast break.

As the first half came to a close, the battle continued, with Tiger Hayden Schafer stealing the ball and passing to Jack Jewell to put up 2 points.

Prairie City answered with Ethan Camerena sinking a shot off Lovells attempt.

Panther Mack Clark scored a three-pointer at the buzzer, but Prairie City still trailed 23-28.

The fourth quarter was marked by 10 fouls for each team.

The Tigers had a good showing at the free-throw line. Going 2-2 in the fourth were Dakota Emerson and Seth Blakeslee, and Jordan Bowlus went 3-4.

Panther Garrett Hitz also had a 2-2 trip to the foul line, and his teammate Omar Ceja hit a 3-pointer.

The Tigers had a 15-point lead to close the game.

I thought we did good, said Tiger Jamen Schafer, who had a game-high 14 points for the night. In the second half we stopped communicating and slowed down, but in the fourth we communicated a lot better. We moved as a team and showed how we can play.

The Tigers are undefeated in league.

Now that weve been able to see all the teams, well make adjustments and continue to work hard, he said.

Woodbury said the Tigers ran an effective defense and offensively found the gaps in the Panthers defense, especially in the first half.

I think they had a little trepidation coming out on the floor, he said of his team. Playing against good teams, you cant have slow starts youve got to play a full game.

Lovell had a game-high 22 points for the night.

Prairie City had better luck Saturday against Mitchell/Spray in Spray, winning 43-40 in overtime.

Everyone was patient, and it wasnt sloppy, he said. It was one of our best games, and not very many turnovers for either side.

Prairie City faces Adrian on the road at 6:30 p.m. Friday and the Baker junior varsity at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at home.

The Tigers played Adrian on the road Saturday winning 63-46.

They played an up-tempo game, and their defense was very active and caused a lot of turnovers, Schafer said. It was a great game to win this close to districts.

They meet up with Grant Union junior varsity at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in Dayville and Long Creek/Ukiah at 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Long Creek.

Tiger boys update:

Season looks bright for Dayville/Monument

Theres no other way to put it, the Dayville/Monument Tiger boys are on a roll.

Our team has come a long way this year, said head coach Jeff Schafer who has assistance from Eddie Edmundson.

Teamwork and sweat equity seem to be the key to the Tigers success on the court this season.

The Tigers have been on a win streak, with eight consecutive, and decisive, wins.

They have a 10-5 overall record and are 2-0 in league.

Making up the roster are two freshmen, four sophomores, one junior and four seniors.

Jamen Schafer, Jack Jewell, Seth Blakeslee and Colten Winters, the seniors, say theyre happy with how the team is improving and working together.

We started out rough its different from last year, said Jewell. Right now were working as a team, and I think well do good at districts and hopefully make it to Baker (for state playoffs).

Jamen Schafer said the team does especially well when theyre communicating.

Im trying to improve my skills to be the best player I can be on the court, he said.

I think were playing really well, Blakeslee said. Hopefully we can keep it up and go far in districts and on to state.

We are working as a team, and its showing on the court, Winters said.

Coach Schafer agreed.

One of our major accomplishments has been the team unity that we have built, he said.

He added the 10 players with different ages, schools and skill levels play well and are successful because they trust each other.

These boys are developing life skills that will help them in the future, he said. I am so incredibly proud of this team and what they have accomplished so far. They will continue to work hard and improve as a team our goal is to go into districts first in our league.