Losses at holiday tournament drop team to 2-7 overall
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The end of 2014 didn’t go as planned for the Big Foot boys basketball team.
But the Chiefs have no choice but to keep plugging away from here.
Big Foot traveled to Lake Mills Dec. 29 and 30 for a two-day holiday tournament, and returned with a pair of lopsided defeats to drop to 2-7 overall. The Chiefs fell 50-39 to Lakeside Lutheran in the opener, followed by a 57-26 loss the next night to Lake Mills.
“We didn’t play well,” Big Foot coach Mike Dowden said. “(Both teams) were better than us and it showed. It took us some time to figure out how hard we had to play, and then we fought back in the Lakeside Lutheran game, but imploded in the Lake Mills game.
“They were good opponents for us to play, because I hope they set us up for the rest of the season. Overall, though, we just need to play better on both ends of the floor.”
Lake Mills held a 17-8 lead after the first quarter and extended that advantage to 28-13 by halftime. Big Foot was outscored 29-13 the last two quarters.
The fast early start by Lake Mills came down to a pair of factors, Dowden said.
“They made some shots, and we struggled to communicate in the zone,” he said. “When we communicate and fly around, we play tough. When we don’t, we don’t play very well at all. It was a combination of our lack of effort and their ability to score in bunches.”
Offensively, the Chiefs struggled, as they managed just single digits in all four quarters. Zak Greco led the way with seven points, followed by Brett Morris with six and Beau Cary with four.
Dowden said he felt like his team didn’t work the ball enough to get a good look at the basket too many times in the game.
“We have talked about the fact that good shots for one player may be bad for another and that we want a good shot all the time,” he said. “It’s a work in progress, and if you combine that with their ability to defend, it put us at a big disadvantage.”
The first half against Lakeside Lutheran also was a struggle, as Big Foot fell behind 29-13 by halftime. The Chiefs outscored Lutheran 26-21 in the last two quarters, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
In both games, the story was very similar, Dowden said.
“We weren’t ready to play, score and get good looks each possession,” he said.
Alex Landers had 11 points to lead Big Foot, followed by Greco with eight and Hehr, Cary and Nico Tovar with five.
Big Foot was back in action Tuesday night at Clinton. Results were unavailable by press time.
The Chiefs host Beloit Turner Friday night at 7:15 p.m., followed by a non-conference matchup Saturday against Delavan-Darien, beginning at 7:30.
“(We need) to get back to playing hard on each possession, playing with a passion and executing as a team for 32 minutes,” Dowden said.
“If we get back to worrying about the small things – boxing out, communication, execution, etc., then the overall score will take care of itself. There aren’t any shortcuts.”
