It was Senior Night for the Albert Lea High School boys’ basketball team and, for one quarter at least, it seemed to provide some inspiration for a Tiger squad that has struggled of late.

Saturday, March 02, 2002

It was Senior Night for the Albert Lea High School boys’ basketball team and, for one quarter at least, it seemed to provide some inspiration for a Tiger squad that has struggled of late.

But it was all down hill after the first quarter.

The Tigers saw a two-point deficit turn into a 12-point halftime margin and they went on to lose 61-39 to Rochester Century in the ALHS gym. It was the final game of the regular season for the Tigers, who finished 8-10 in the Big Nine and fell to 10-12 overall while the Panthers improved to 14-4 and 16-6.

A disappointed coach Matt Addington said it’s no secret the Tigers need to improve if they’re going anywhere in the Section 2AAA tournament, which they open Wednesday with a 7 p.m. home game against Mankato West.

&uot;We’re obviously not playing very well,&uot; said Addington. &uot;I told the guys they have two choices. We’re 0-0, starting over for the section playoffs, or we’ve got five days left in the season. There’s no magic formula this time of year. You have to play like it’s your last game every game, and now it is.&uot;

Ben Woodside led the Tigers Friday with 11 points and five assists. Tyler Young had eight points and seven rebounds. Josh Kasper scored seven.

The Tigers were 13-for-40 from the floor and 11-for-21 at the line, the Panthers 20-for-34 and 16-for-34. Albert Lea made two of 15 three-point shots and was outrebounded 29-22.