Danny Reneau, Publisher
Posted: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 3:59 pm

The Silsbee Tigers traveled to Hamshire-Fannett on Friday and found themselves in the middle of a much tougher contest than many had anticipated.

 Silsbee led in this game 19-16 at the end of the first quarter and 42-33 at the half.

However, shortly after the half, the Longhorns mounted a comeback and narrowed the gap to 50-48 midway through the third period.

Coach Joe Sigler did not mince words about the Tigers play. He stated, “I thought we were flat and did not adjust well to the officials.”

Later, he went on to explain that he thought the Tigers played well enough to win offensively but they gave up 66 points in the game which was way too many.

His big complaint was not with the officials but with the way his team adjusted to the calls that the officials were making on the court.

Eventually, in the words of Sigler, “The team played well enough to move to the next game.”

Chris Elam got the Tigers rocking in the first period when he hit for six points. Patrick Reed added five and Danti Wilson scored four during the period.

By the end of the first quarter, Silsbee had 19 points and a three point lead.

Wilson nailed a three and hit for eight in the second period. His teammate Jordan Holmes had a three and tossed in seven during the second period.

Silsbee began to put some distance between themselves and the Longhorns during the period when they outscored the Horns 23-17 to lead 42-33 at the half.

Hamshire-Fannett actually outscored the Tigers 17-13 in the third period. It was during this period that the Horns narrowed the Tigers lead to 50-48 before Silsbee began to pull away at the end of the period.

Silsbee led 60-52 at the start of the fourth period. Holmes who was the high point man in the game with 16 points hit for seven in the fourth period.

The Tigers were able to stretch their lead to 78-66 at the end of the game.

The Tigers had a balanced attack with four men in double figures in the game.

Holmes led the way with 16 points. Wilson and Elam had 14 each and Reed hit for 13.

DaVaughn Thomas hit for eight, Yancy Brydson scored three points, Jake Dobbins scored two and Zayon Jackson scored five.

Jordan Brown led the Horns with 24 points. He was joined in double figures by Travis Applows with 14 and Steven Hubert with 11.

Brown was consistent. He scored eight in the first quarter, four in the second and third quarters before scoring eight more in the fourth period.

Like most recent games, that Tigers scored most of their points off two-point field goals. They had just three- three point shots and made 10 of 22 free throws.

The Tigers have hit less than 50 percent from the free throw line most of the year.

Hamshire-Fannett made six of nine free throws.

Silsbee did have a bye prior to the game. This left them without a game for more than a week. Sigler says he does not like the bye and is glad that the team has an opponent scheduled into their next bye.

There are seven teams in the district and each year the teams each have two nights that they don’t have a game.

 The Tigers are now in the heart of their district schedule. After playing a tough game against Hamshire-Fannett on Friday, they played Hardin Jefferson at Ford Park on Tuesday.

The Tigers will play at WOS on Friday and conclude the first half of district play at Orangefield on Jan 22.
Silsbee now has a record of 16-7. They are tied for first in district play with a record of 4-0.

WOS is tied with the Tigers at the top of the 21-3A standings with a 4-0 record. They are 15-8 this season.
Hardin-Jefferson is right behind the two leaders. They have a 3-1 record. They are 25-2 this season.

The remained of the teams in the district are as follows: Bridge City (10-12 and 1-3), Hamshire-Fannett  (9-14 and 2-3), Orangefield (12-8 and 1-3) and Buna (12-11 and 0-5).