TERRY GRAVES MAKES A SHOT AGAINST WARREN He was “a good spark off the bench” for the Tigers. The Washington-Wilkes Tigers added a much-needed win to their region schedule last Friday in a terrific come-from-behind performance over the Screaming Devils of Warren County. The win put the Tigers at 2-3 in the region (tied with Lincoln County) and positioned the team to possibly avoid a fourth place finish.

With three region games left on the schedule, Head Coach Don Keiser says his team has got to win two of them to make that happen – and he’s also hoping that Lincoln gets beat in all three of its remaining games. Either scenario would leave W-W probably in third place with a playoff berth against the No. 2 team in the other sub-region – most likely Hancock Central.

The problem with a fourth place finish is that the playoff berth would be against Wilkinson County, the Number One team in the state. The Warriors haven’t had to look back from their top ranking all year. They are 18-0 and have come within five points of 100 at least three times this season. Keiser, understandably, doesn’t want to face Wilkinson in the first post-season game.

MATSON KEISER PULLS DOWN A REBOUND Looking rather intimidating to the Warren Screaming Devil. On top of sub-region 4A-A is Aquinas at 12-4 having just joined the state’s top ten list at No. 10. But the Fighting Irish are fighting more than just their regular season competition. There is a chance the team could be ruled ineligible on two different fronts. They have a problem with a player who allegedly switched schools without moving his residence, and there is some question involving the head coach’s qualification. Either could, but is not necessarily expected to, take the Irish out of competition.

Remaining region games for the Tigers are against Taliaferro County (played Tuesday but too late to report here), Aquinas at Aquinas on Friday, and Lincoln County at home next Tuesday, February 2.

In last Friday’s big win over Warren County, the Tigers were down by 11 points at halftime but bounced back to score 55 points in the second half while holding the Screamers to about half that. Eric Scott was responsible for shutting down Warren’s top shooter who averages about six three-pointers a game – he got none against W-W, thanks to Scott’s defense.

The Tigers offense was led by Matson Keiser who hit 22 points and double-doubled with 12 rebounds. He also added to his state-leading steals total with another six against Warren. (Keiser has 99 steals this season and his closest reported competition in the state has only 69. He leads all classifications in both steals and steals per game.) Also in double figures for W-W were Dez Jackson with 17 points and Akeimos Coleman with 10. “Terry Graves and Dijon Ragland were big sparks off the bench for us too,” Coach Keiser said.

Unfortunately, it was a different story Saturday night when the inconsistency of the current Tigers showed up again. Playing against a not-so-good Athens Academy (6-10) team, the Tigers “looked like crap,” Keiser said. “We should have killed them.”

Still, three Tigers managed to hit double figures: Coleman (13), Poody Jones (12), and Keiser (11).