By T. Scott Boatright
MONROE — There’s a new atmosphere — new attitude surrounding the Simsboro High School boys basketball team this season.
And so far, it seems to be a winning attitude.
Take in case Friday night’s 65-43 win at Class 1A St. Frederick.
Defensive domination helped the Tigers off to a strong start as Simsboro led 16-5 at the end of the opening stanza.
But the Warriors flipped the script in the second quarter as St. Frederick outscored Simsboro 15-4 to take a 20-18 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
The Tigers roared back to open the second half, with Modest pouring in 13 points — including three 3-pointers — to go on top 41-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
Simsboro didn’t let up in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Warriors 24-11 rest of the way,
That win puts the Tigers at 17-11 heading into Tuesday’s District 2-B season opener at home against Choudrant, something that coach Adam Wodach feels good about.
“After a 1-5 start, it’s been a process trying to improve every single game and not necessarily focusing on our record,” Wodach said. “I think the St. Frederick game shows the tremendous growth we’ve made so far. It was a physical game, both ways, but we competed and overcame adversity and that makes me proud of where we’re at.”
Modest led the Tigers with 29 points while Ahmad Smith added 11, Jalen Outley chipped in with 10 and Itavus Brown hit for nine
“I think that’s what makes us so good — there’s so many guys we can rely on,” Wodach said. “Tonight it was Modest. But it might be another guy another night and still another the next.
“And Ahmad’s and Jalen’s numbers might show up on the scoring stat sheets more often, there are all our guys rebounding and playing defense. I think that’s what makes us so good — that we’re not a one-trick pony. We have a lot of guys we can and do rely upon playing as a team.”
In his first season coaching at Simsboro, Wodach knew his Tigers might not exactly roar out of the gates.
“We talked about it early on — about it not being about wins and losses and power ratings,” Wodach said. “It’s just about focusing on what you can control. It’s been an up and down season with both good and bad streaks, and I think we’ve learned from it. I think that showed in our last game.”
Wodach, in his first year as coach of the Tigers, admits that playing a program that won a second-straight state title only two years ago, can’t be easy for his young team.
“I knew what I was going into with them winning three state titles over five We’re years,” Wodach said. “It’s a place where you’re expected to win and have success.
“We’re really young. We start an eighth-grader — Ahmad Smith — who plays a big role for us. But we’re still learning about each other. But we are learning and getting better. That’s all you can ask for.”
