The LaSalle Tigers endured a challenging week on the hardwood, dropping two district matchups but continuing to show the resilience that has defined their season summed up simply as: Tiger Pride.
On Tuesday, February 10, the Tigers traveled to face district rival Logansport, where the home team controlled the tempo early and never relinquished it. LaSalle struggled to find consistent scoring opportunities and fell 80–48.
Despite the margin, the Tigers continued to compete deep into the second half, showing the grit that has kept them competitive all season.
Thursday night, February 12, brought the Tigers back home to Olla for another district contest, this time against Montgomery. LaSalle came out with strong energy in front of its home crowd, but Montgomery’s balanced attack and defensive pressure proved difficult to overcome. The Tigers ultimately fell 75–50.
In both matchups, sophomore Lane Burnham shined offensively and still put up double-digit points in both games, 12 at Logansport and 20 against Montgomery. Seniors Caiden Finley and Tuff Street also did a great job themselves as Finley put up 11 against Logansport and Street put up 7 against Montgomery. The identity of the team all year long has been slowing their pace to their liking and playing good defense and these three have role modeled that all year.
While the results this week were not what the team hoped for, they do little to overshadow what has been a meaningful and successful season. With an 11–15 record, the Tigers have remained competitive, represented their school with pride, and energized the local community throughout the year.
Head Coach Michael Duke, assistant coach David Rader, and players alike remain hopeful that their effort will be rewarded with a playoff berth. With one week left before the playoff brackets are released on Monday, February 23, the Tigers find themselves on the edge waiting to see if they are one of the 28 teams to make the playoffs.
Even if the postseason doesn’t materialize, this year’s team has already accomplished something significant — they’ve created excitement around LaSalle basketball and given their supporters plenty to cheer about.
For a program built on determination and community support, that may be the biggest win of all. Go Tigers!
This week’s Tigers sports page is sponsored by Homeland Bank.
