Staff Writer
PERTH ANDOVER, N.B. – Tiger varsity basketball had their first competitive warmup of the 2007-08 basketball season in the annual Valhalla Basketball Tournament from Nov. 21 to 24. Even though their Canadian competitors had already completed a month of training to the Tigers’ two days, the varsity boys won two of three games. In the four 10-minute quarters, Fort Fairfield conquered Southern Victoria, 88-68. They went on to play Bathurst for a high-scoring victory of 102-58. In their final game against Carleton-North, the Tigers had a close 77-64 loss.
“I was really pleased with the effort of the team,” commented coach Todd Alley.
The girls’ varsity came away with added experience to help their team mesh together before regular season play. The Tigers had the low score in their three games against John Caldwell (77-38), St. Stephen (67-37) and Bathurst (57-55).
Coach Larry Gardner expects the Fort Fairfield girls have gained from the extra games. “We played some good competition and got a little better each game,” commented Gardner. “We have a lot of work to do to be competitive but the kids are willing to work so we’ll see how much and how fast we can improve in the next two weeks.”
The Tiger boys’ season begins Friday, Dec. 7 at Easton while the girls begin with a home game against Central Aroostook on Saturday, Dec. 8.
