The Tigers had their work cut out for them from the opening moments of the Summit High School boys basketball game against the Palisade Bulldogs Friday, Jan. 21. The Palisade Bulldogs (5-7) came into the game on a two-game wining streak after beating league opponents Steamboat Springs and Eagle Valley last week.

The Bulldogs started with lots of speed and energy. The Tigers attempted to match it, but it led to forced turnovers and miscommunication. Palisade employed a tough press that the Tigers found hard to get past, frustrating the team early on. The Summit offense was scoreless for most of the first quarter due to the defensive pressure by the Bulldogs.

Junior Jack Schierholz finally broke Summit’s dry scoring streak, opening the door for Ephraim Overstreet to do the same. By the end of the first quarter, the Tigers trailed 23-7 with momentum trending toward Palisade after a buzzer beating 3-pointer.

The fast offense of Palisade caused the Tigers to do everything they could to slow down the pace of play In the second quarter, which led to a large amount of fouls and free throws shot by the Bulldogs to further extend their lead.

Tyler Hodges and Hank Chabot started to energize the Tiger team, but it was not enough to slow down the Bulldogs as they led 44-20 at the end of the first half.

The second half was more of the same story for the Tigers. The Tigers did play better defense and offense in the third quarter, but it got to a point where they were exhausted from trying to claw back. The Tigers continued to do everything they could to not give up on the game in the final minutes. However, it was evident that fatigue had set in a long time ago.

Donovan Maestas and Nick Campbell were fundamental in Palisade getting the win, scoring from the guard positions and smoothly running the offense for the majority of the game.

The Tigers lost to the Bulldogs 76-44 to fall to 3-9 on the season and 1-3 in league play.