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THS coaches scouted Jeff West

By Benton Smith - | Feb 23, 2011

Thanks to a Monday night trip to Hoyt, the Tonganoxie High boys basketball coaches have a pretty good idea what to expect out of their first-round sub-state opponent, Jeff West.

With no THS game on the schedule Monday, the coaches were able to watch JWHS defeat Royal Valley, 46-37.

Chieftains head coach Shawn Phillips said the scouting trip allowed him and his assistants to learn a little about the Tigers.

“We got to see a full game and they played zone pretty much the whole time,” Phillips said, noting Jeff West also showed some full-court pressure on defense.

On the offensive end of the floor, the coaches were able to watch the Tigers’ man offense and zone offense.

“They don’t play exceptionally fast, but they do have a point guard that’s pretty solid,” Phillips said of 5-foot-9 sophomore Cory Brown.

The scouting trip wasn’t completely enlightening, though, because Phillips said one of Jeff West’s better post players has been out the past few games and they don’t know whether he will return for sub-state.

The posts who did play, the coach noted, were physically strong, but he said the Tigers didn’t utilize them much offensively and he anticipates a more guard-driven attack when Tonganoxie plays host to JWHS at 7 p.m. this coming Monday.

Phillips said his team should be able to match up with Jeff West (8-12) as long as the Chieftains get contributions from more than a couple of players.

“I think it’s gonna be similar to a lot of other games,” Phillips said. “We’ve got some weapons that we can use against them but it’s gonna have to be a full team effort.”

Whichever team dictates its style in the opening-round game, he added, should have the advantage.

“When it come s to sub-state, when you lose you’re done,” Phillips said. “The team that plays with the most intensity, that’s the team that’s usually going to come out on top.”

Playing a home game also could prove advantageous for Tonganoxie. The Chieftains are 6-5 at home this season (compared to 2-6 on the road), and Phillips hoped the home crowd could provide his team with some energy.

“I think we play a little bit looser at home,” he said.

Jeff West’s regular season ended Tuesday, with a 50-44 home loss to Sabetha. However, THS has the chance for one more tune-up prior to sub-state with a 7:30 p.m. Friday home game against Turner. Phillips thinks that could help the Chieftains.

“It keeps us in our same normal routine,” he said of playing on Friday. “Things shouldn’t bee too out of the norm.”

The only thing that might be different after that is doing some preparation over the weekend for a Monday game. But Phillips was glad THS will have a chance to end the regular season on a high note.

“It’s good that we have another opportunity to play,” he said, “especially since we didn’t play real well last night (Tuesday at Piper, a 56-49 loss).”

Boys bracket

Monday — Top seed plays host

No.1 Sumner Academy (16-3) vs. No. 8 Atchison (1-18)

No. 4 Tonganoxie (8-11) vs. No. 5 Jeff West (8-12)

No. 2 Basehor-Linwood (16-3) vs. No. 7 Piper (4-13)

No. 3 Bonner Springs (13-5) vs. No. 6 Bishop Ward (6-12)

Thursday — At Piper

Sumner/Atchison vs. Tonganoxie/Jeff West

Basehor-Linwood/Piper vs. Bonner Springs/Bishop Ward

Saturday — At Piper

Sub-state final tips at 7:30 p.m.