By STEPHEN GLOVER

For the Call

If anyone has questions about what the Oakville Senior High boys’ basketball team could accomplish this season, the Tigers are giving answers.

With commanding wins over Mehlville Senior High and Parkway North, Oakville flashed its potential last weekend.

The undefeated Tigers grabbed the tournament championship in the South Side Classic at Hancock Senior High with a 65-42 thumping of Mehlville last Friday.

“We knew that we had to keep (Nick) DuBugue, (Rodney) Heard and (Ronald) Roberts in check in order to win,” Oakville head coach Kenny Ash told the Call. “The kids carried out our game plan to a ‘T.'”

The Tigers held Mehlville to its lowest scoring effort of the season as the aforementioned Panther trio were held to just 30 points after averaging 40.5 points a game this season.

Oakville’s Casey Noll led the Tigers with a season-high 21-point effort in the win over the Panthers. The senior forward currently is averaging 14.8 points a game this season.

“Casey did a great job in that game,” Ash said. “His defense was probably the difference maker.”

Also having a solid scoring effort for the Tigers was senior forward Drew Martin with 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots.

“Once again, Drew’s getting a lot of boards for us,” Ash said. “He’s going out there and really doing what we ask of him to do.”

The Tiger’s third player to score in double figures against Mehlville was senior guard Matt McKiernan, who racked up 11 points in the winning effort.

“Matt’s a very smart basketball player,” Ash said. “He’s such a tough-nosed kid.”

After the beating Mehlville, the Tigers traveled to the Family Arena in St. Charles last Saturday and pounded Parkway North 67-39.

The Tiger coaching staff was a little concerned going into the game because both Oakville and Parkway North had played three games in five days and the Vikings were suffering from a three-game losing streak.

“It was a big concern to me because they (Parkway North) had played the same schedule as us this week,” Ash explained. “We were on a three-game winning streak and they were on a three-game losing streak. I figured that they would fight us tooth and nail.”

Noll again led the Tigers with 18 points and 11 rebounds while McKiernan added a 15-point effort with five assists and two rebounds.

Martin rounded out those scoring in double figures for Oakville with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

“My assistant coach Bill Smith said that it was a slow and methodical win. It wasn’t a flashy win, we just kept widening the margin in every quarter,” Ash said. “It’s very nice to have three talented players like that along with the rest of the players on our team.”

Senior guard DeAndre Jackson put together a nine-point, six-rebound, six-assist, three-steal effort, earning him particular note with his head coach.

“In the wins against Mehlville and Parkway North, we put him on the team’s top penetrator,” Ash said.

“He’s really turning into our defensive stopper. He’s going to be huge for us the rest of the season,” Ash added.

The Tigers travel to Lutheran South at 7 p.m. Friday.

The Lancers are 3-0 after reaching the state quarterfinal last season where they dropped a 63-43 decision to Dexter.

“We know that they’re a very well-coached team,” Ash said. “They went to the quarterfinals last year, so they know how to win. It’s going to be a tough game, but it will be exciting to go over there and see just what we’re made of.”