by Calli Newberry

It’s exactly what they’ve been working on and it showed Tuesday night in the SC4 Fieldhouse.

The Armada boys basketball team prides itself on its defense, and after back-to-back losses, the Tigers knew something had to change.

“Ever since our last game, our focus has been good defensive pressure and making it difficult for the other team, so that’s what was the talk [at halftime]. We can do it, we’ve been doing it against ourselves, so let’s put it in a game function,” head coach Chris Haller said. “So that’s what they did. They got their defensive pressure up a little bit, they got some steals, and that led to points, and that’s what the goal of pressure is, to score in transition.”

Armada defeated Anchor Bay 58-38 in the final game of the first day of the SC4 Holiday Basketball Showcase.

After the first quarter, the Tigers only led by two, 10-8, but a 9-0 run to start the second quarter gave them the separation and the momentum they needed. This was a credit to their defense that held the Tars scoreless for more than six minutes before giving up a free throw.

“Our last couple of games have been, I wouldn’t say rough, but they’ve been a challenge for us to grow and learn where we’re at,” Haller said. “This allowed us to put that into play and put more defensive pressure, make sure we’re getting to the ball, just making the other ball carriers uncomfortable, and then hopefully getting that ball and transitioning to our offense.”

That transition offense was certainly key for Armada’s victory. After countless steals and defensive rebounds, the Tigers were able to quickly push the ball up the court for fast-break layups, many of which were propelled by junior forward Andrew Sniesak.

“Andrew is a big piece for us. He’s our most returning minutes from last year, so he’s been in some of those battle trenches, whereas we’re kind of a young team and a lot of our kids are learning that,” Haller said. “He can kind of help bring us to that speed and that level. And you can see it there, when he decides he’s going to play pressure, he can go turn some people, he’s going to cause a turnover, and he’s going to get us a play like that.”

Sniesak led the Tigers offensively with 14 points, while junior forward Preston Hill and junior guard Camden Khon each chipped in with 11. Armada only brought seven players to Tuesday’s game due to sickness, injury, and travel, and Haller said he thought despite their decreased roster, his team played cohesively.

“Tonight was a good team [win]. We were small, we were short a lot of players, but we came together as the group of seven that we had, and we did all the things we needed together,” he said. “There was good talking on the bench, good talking on the floor, all that.”

Sniesak echoed his coach’s remarks, saying he thought he and his teammates showed new potential.

“After coming off of two losses, tonight just showed us our potential and where we need to be. We just came back and showed our hustle and what we can be and what we’re going to be for the rest of the season,” he said. “Having other people to score helps because it all evens out and if it evens out and then that just builds numbers in the points and then you win.”

In addition to improved defensive pressure, the Tigers also had the opportunity to work on their free throws, something Haller said they’ve been struggling with. As a team, the Tigers went 3-for-9 from the free-throw line in the first half, however, in the second half, they managed a 9-for-12 performance.

“I don’t know what’s going on with free throws, we shoot a lot of free throws at practice too,” Haller said. “I think even they were getting a little frustrated that they were missing so many free throws and it allowed them to just keep shooting their shot and they kind of found their rhythm.”

For Sniesak, he had the perfect opportunity to practice his free throws at the end of the third quarter when he was sent to the line after getting hit in the head. An Anchor Bay athlete then argued the call, picking up a technical, which gave Sniesak four shots from the charity stripe. He went 2-for-4, contributing to a 5-for-8 night.

“I started off really hot this year, then kinda went downhill, but I’m starting to get it back,” Sniesak said.

“He came to me a couple weeks ago and was like, ‘I need help, I can’t make a free throw, I don’t know what’s happening,’” Haller said. “So we changed the format a little bit and it’s been a lot more successful.”

So now the Tigers will prepare for their upcoming conference games, the first of which will be home against Almont on Friday, Jan. 7 for a 7 o’clock tipoff.

“We did a lot of really good things that are going to help us be successful in the BWAC, but there were also some gaps in what we did that we know BWAC teams will take advantage of…We can use the film and all of this as a growing point,” Haller said. “We can also…look at the good things we were able to do, the things we’ve struggled to do the last couple of games, and keep getting better on those.”