Waldorf’s Men’s Basketball crushes Season Opening Game

Brian Smith takes a 3-point shot. Photo by Chasen Selsor

By: Chasen Selsor

Warriors started strong in their 2017-18 season opener against the Silver Lake Lakers with a 20-point lead on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017.

The Warriors scored 88 points, earning them the win against the Lakers’ score of 68 points at Waldorf’s Hanson Fieldhouse.

Warriors were aggressive at the beginning of the first half and continued their surge throughout the rest of the game. Their defense was impeccable at the start and also kept that going until the end. The Warriors had a total of 40 rebounds by the final buzzer, and nearly half of that was from the first half of the game. Only seven minutes into the game, the Warriors had a 25-point lead over the Lakers.

One player’s stats stood out from the rest in more than one area. Kaden Verdin, a senior-center from Atwater, California, had nine rebounds and scored 21 points for the Warriors. “The team played pretty well and came out hot,” Verdin said, “but we just need to work on defense a little more.”

Verdin’s points were not what won the game. It took team work, and that is just what the Warriors did.

Both Fumata Tula, a senior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., and freshman Brian Smith, also a guard from Minnesota, showed great team work as they led the Warriors in assists. Each played three assists during the game and were also among the top scorers. Tula scored the second highest with 16 points, and Smith scored 15-point–setting him up to be in the top three scoring players for the night’s game. Smith showed great agility and was able to move the ball around in the Warriors’ favor.

Head Coach Nigel Jenkins was pleased with how the Warriors performed during the game. “We had a really fast start,” Jenkins stated, “and came out with a lot of energy.” This is Jenkin’s seventh year here as the coach and is joined by Assistant Coaches Gunsby Dejohnett and Kyle Hoffman.

One player that made his way to the crowd’s attention was Alex Tastad, a senior center from Trondheim, Norway. Tastad had come into the game for the last six minutes and made his presence. With only limited playing time, he had scored six points and made it look easy.

The Warriors’ next game will be home against Briar Cliff University on Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m.