The Tigers (4-7) hosted the Cardinals(11-1) in an ICC South conference game on Monday evening and fell to Forbes Road 78-60. The two teams played a tight first quarter, with the Tigers holding a 17-16 edge at the end of the first. Landon Arnold paced the Tigers with 8 first-quarter points while Broc Hostler hit 6 points, and Jake Coffman drilled a trey to complete the first-quarter scoring. Sawyer Hollibaugh had the hot hand early for the Cardinals, knocking down three treys in the opening period.

In the second quarter, the Cardinals continued to switch up their defenses to try to slow down the Tigers, but Fannett-Metal continued to be patient on offense while also converting some steals/turnovers into transition points. Hostler led the scoring attack in the second period with 8 points, Arnold had 5 points, Jake Coffman knocked down another trey, and Evan Wingert chipped in two points. The Tigers went into the half leading 35-29.

In the third quarter, the Cardinals made an early run, which the Tigers quickly answered. The two teams traded buckets for most of the third period. A couple of missed shots and turnovers by the Tigers led to a Cardinal scoring spurt, and they closed out the third quarter with a 46-43 lead. It had been a great high school game up to this point.

The fourth quarter was a completely different game. The Cardinals big man Jacoby Knepper took over inside, and the Tigers had no answer. After containing Knepper with 9 first-half points, Knepper broke loose for 27 second-half points as he finished with a game-high 36 points. Also contributing heavily in the fourth quarter was Cardinal point guard Michael Strait, who scored 11 points in the quarter and had a handful of nice assists. Strait finished with 23 points. The Cardinals used a 32-point fourth quarter to put the Tigers away with a final score of 78-60.

Broc Hostler led the Tigers with 24 points and 5 assists. Landon Arnold continues a solid season with 17 points and 5 rebounds. Jake Coffman had a great all-around game with 11 points, 5 steals, and 5 assists. Evan Wingert chipped in 6 points and 1 rebound. Gage McCclure added 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Colton Daniel added 2 points. The Tigers were outrebounded 23-13.

Fannett-Metal returns to action on Wednesday with another ICC south conference game vs. McConnellsburg. This is a varsity-only contest with a 4:30 start.