photo by david b. hardt
CHIEF LESCHI PLAYERS ARE SHOWN IN RECENT GAME AGAINST BEAR CREEK. Tyler Savini drives to the basket.
The Chief Leschi Warriors (6-5, 2-1) started off the season with an impressive winning streak, taking their first four games by a hefty average of 36.5 points. However, the Warriors hit an unfortunate skid, losing two games in a row to Crosspoint and Bear Creek.
On Jan. 14, still seething after the hard-fought loss over the dominant Bear Creek Grizzlies earlier in the week, the Warriors regrouped and handily routed the besieged Christian Faith Eagles (0-8, 0-3) 72-28.
Warriors head coach Eric Smith, shortly before the game, shared his thoughts on his team’s performance so far this season as well his thoughts on the game against the Eagles.
“We have just come off two losses and the guys are disappointed, so I am anticipating they will come out and play a big game. Stepping up big for us is league leading scorer, sophomore shooting guard Nate Bisson (averaging 12.5 points),” Eric Smith said. “Also contributing big are forwards Jordan Foley (averaging 15.5 points) and Michael Wallace (averaging 10.5 points). Returning back to the line-up and making an impact is point guard Tyler Savini. We have a really young team, so we are really learning. We want to go inside-out tonight.”
In the first half the Warriors limited the Eagles to 23.1 percent shooting and forced 15 turnovers. Ball-savvy Tyler Savini (7 points) led the charge dishing out laser-precise assists, connecting with seniors Joe Bisson (10 points), Jake Rideout (9 points) and Ali Ahmad (13 points) for three-point field goals to start the 15-6 run late in the half. The Warriors’ relentless full-court defense wore down the Eagles, sending them to the locker room looking at a 34-15 daunting, up-hill battle.
Even though a rout was in the making, Eric Smith still wanted his team to work.
“We are still early in the season, so we are working on our defensive sets. We are really just trying to get some new approaches on defense, like the one-three-one zone. We are going to go man-to-man against their big guy.”
In the second half the Warriors continued to push the ball and implement the one-three-one zone defense along with periodically pressuring the Eagles full-court. The Warriors played team ball locating hot-shooting Jordan Foley (16 points, 13 rebounds), who would punish the Eagles with high-percentage shooting and aggressive rebounding. The Warriors’ ferocious play helped outscore the Eagles 18-2 in the final period. The Eagles’ only two points came from the charity line. Joe Bisson completed the shooting clinic by drilling a running three-pointer in the final minutes of the last period to finish off the rout.
“Tonight we played as a team, simple as that,” Ali Ahmad said. “We just remained positive and that was the main thing. We started playing more like a team in the second half – that made a big difference.”
“Tonight was a new experience playing against someone bigger than me; it just made me work harder,” Jordan Foley said. “The lesson I learned tonight is teamwork and to play hard all the time.”
“The first half was sloppy and in the second half we picked it up,” Jake Rideout said. “We are just trying to work on things now before we get to the big games. We learned in this game not to start in the second half, but play the whole game.”
