Tate Tefton, education freshman at St. Philip’s drives past Desmond Hines, liberal arts freshman at Northwest Vista, to get across half court to avoid a 10-second violation during the semifinal game Saturday at McDermott at the University of the Incarnate Word. Adriana Ruiz
By Carlos Ferrand
cferrand@student.alamo.edu
After the Tigers lost to the Wildcats by 27 points March 20, St. Philip’s returned to trounce Northwest Vista 100-83 April 6 in the McDermott Convocation Center at Incarnate Word.
The bad blood between the St. Philip’s Tigers and the Northwest Vista Wildcats dates back to last season when the Wildcats fell to The Tigers, preventing Northwest Vista from advancing to the playoffs.
This year was different; the Wildcats made the playoffs and faced the Tigers. Northwest Vista’s defense secured the March 20 victory.
The Wildcats held the Tigers’ leading scorer, criminal justice sophomore Mark Anthony, to only 2 points.
Anthony started the April 6 playoff game with a 3-pointer, scoring more points in the opening seconds than he did in the entire previous meeting. “We wanted revenge,” he said after the game.
Unlike the previous matchup, Northwest Vista’s defense was not able to prevent Anthony and sociology sophomore Jeff Fennell from dominating the paint.
Anthony scored 19 points with four assists, while Fennell led the Tigers with 20 points.
Liberal arts freshman Desmond Hines did his best to keep the game close in the first half, scoring 12 of his 25 points.
It would be the Tigers’ defense that would prove to be too much for the Wildcats to handle.
The Tigers forced 13 steals and brought down 28 defense rebounds.
“We came ready to play. We started putting pressure on their shooters,” St. Philip’s Coach Jimmy Alcala said. “We kept them from getting those easy shots.”
The St. Philip’s Tigers advanced to the championship game April 7 against the Victoria Pirates.
