It's been a tough week for the Howard boys' basketball team. In the past seven days, the Hustlin' Tigers have lost three straight district games by a combined seven points, including back-to-back one-point losses.
That made Friday night's 41-36 win at home on senior night against District 6-AA leader Tyner even sweeter. Despite shooting just 28 percent from the floor - including 2-of-19 from beyond the arc - the Tigers dominated on the defensive end of the floor and controlled the glass to pull off the gritty victory.
"We told our guys, you have to want to play defense, and they played a heck of a defensive game," said Howard coach James Talley. "This game showed us that we don't always have to play run-and-gun; we can play multiple styles. I can't say enough about these seniors, who have stayed together and rebuilt this program."
After a slow start against Red Bank on Thursday night that led to Howard (18-6, 9-4) falling just short in an 80-75 loss, Talley told his team before the game that they had to come out with more intensity. The Tigers responded by holding Tyner (17-5, 10-2) to six points in each of the first two quarters and led by 10 at halftime.
As bad as Howard's shooting was, Tyner shot the ball even worse in the first half. The Rams were just 19 percent from the floor and had twice as many turnovers (eight) as field goals (four).
Howard limited the Rams to one shot on most of their possessions and took 11 more shots on offense, thanks in large part to its rebounding dominance. Senior Telijah Snow led the way for the Tigers with a double-double, finishing the game with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
"Snow just refuses to quit," Talley said. "I talked to him one on one after last night's game and told him that we were going to need everything he brought to the second half of the Red Bank game to beat Tyner. He's not that tall, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in heart and muscle."
Both teams shot the ball a little better in the second half, but Howard's defense kept Tyner from pulling within one possession. Despite the Rams' Kobe Smith's 10 fourth-quarter points - he had a game-high 18 - they never were able to trim the margin to less than four points in the final quarter.
"During our losing streak, teams have been speeding us up, and we've been playing sloppy," said Howard senior guard Marquez Williams, who had 11 points. "I just knew I had to slow the game down in my head and help us close this one out."
Despite the loss, the Rams still sit atop the district standings a game ahead of Brainerd, which beat them last month. Those two teams meet on Feb. 8 in a game that likely will determine the regular-season district champion.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.