Fleetwood takes second place in holiday tournament

The Fleetwood Tigers boys basketball team played host to its annual holiday tournament held Dec. 29 and 30. With a victory over Pequea Valley, and a loss to Palisades, the Tigers finished in second place.

The tournament began Dec. 29 with Fleetwood taking on Pequea Valley. Thanks to a great start, and strong performances from Matt Hook and Tyler Nolt, the Tigers were able to defeat Pequea Valley, 65-45.

The Tigers took control of the game early, outscoring their guests in the first quarter, 22-12. They increased their lead to 14 by halftime, outscoring Pequea Valley in the second quarter, 14-10. The Tigers then kept their thoughts on shutting the Pequea Valley offense down. Fleetwood outscored their guests in the third quarter, 15-12, and the fourth, 14-11.

Hook and Nolt led the way for the Fleetwood offense with 19 points apiece. Jenson Sievert scored eight points while Gabe Kotsch scored six and Justin Hummel added five.

The victory sent Fleetwood to the tournament’s championship game on Dec. 30 where they took on Palisades. This one needed an overtime period to decide the game, but it was Palisades that came out on top, 51-49.

Fleetwood led after one quarter, 13-12, then increased the lead to six by halftime, 26-22. Neither team could pull away from the other in the second half, buit Palisades came back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Tigers, 14-8, sending the game into overtimne with a 47-47 tie. The difference was made in the overtime period when Palisades outscored Fleetwood, 4-2.

Nolte was the top scorer in the game, netting 13 points. Hook chipped in with 12 points while Hummel and Jared Reasor each had 10 points in the game. Sievert contributed with four points.

Hook and Nolt were both named to the All-Tournament Team. Palisades Jason Gehman was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.