But casting a small shadow over the win was the missing player — star senior guard Taurice Grant, who missed following a knee injury suffered Tuesday against North Tama. Grant will get scans next week, Bear said.

Without Grant, there was a noticeable difference on both sides of the ball for the Warriors against the Regents. On the ball, Bear said the Warriors took too many shots early in possessions, not letting the offense run its course and or getting to the basket.

“It was like pulling teeth tonight, to be honest,” Bear said. “A lot of quick shots. Of course we’re going to encourage our guys to shoot open shots, but at some point that’s kind of been the theme this year. We’ve got to understand at a certain point when those shots ain’t going and be a little more aggressive and get to the basket.”

The first half was slow-moving and ended 19-19, as the inside presence of Drew Wagner inside caused the Warriors issues. Bear said the team needed to make better rotations and make things more difficult for Wagner and Dominick Jones.

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

The third quarter started with six straight points from Osceola Tyon, who scored a game-high 19 points while stepping into the lead scoring role. But after that the Warriors didn’t score until the fourth quarter had begun. The Regents scored only four in the third quarter, but the low-scoring nature made the start to the fourth all the more important.

Meskwaki hit its stride in the middle of the fourth, jumping out to a 38-27 lead off of an Evan Nelson 3-pointer. A three-quarter-court press was helpful in Meskwaki speeding up the Regents’ decision making process and forcing turnovers, with layups duly finished off by Tyon and Bishop Chavez on the break. Chavez scored 12 points, and Nelson contributed nine of his own.

Bear also said the offense slowed down and created open looks in the fourth when the team was trying to stall a bit and milk the clock in the half-court.

Despite the positives of the fourth quarter, Bear said it was clear there’s key areas for the Warriors to work on whether Grant is able to play or not.

“When you have a player of that quality that doesn’t play, it’s not just necessarily the points that have to be redistributed,” Bear said. “It’s the effort, the defense and the rotations and stuff that [Grant] would normally compensate for because he’s a good athlete. So we’ve got to be more sound on-ball, one pass away and on the backside.”

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING

The Warriors play Valley Lutheran at home Tuesday night.

Meskwaki 47, Waterloo Christian 32

At Meskwaki Settlement

WATERLOO CHRISTIAN (4-8) — Aaron Zwack 3 0-0 7, Carson Rowenhorst 1 0-1 2, Bryce Adams 0 0-0 0, Dominick Jones 4 2-2 10, Drew Wagner 5 1-4 11, Mason Reisetter 0 0-0 0, Will Davis 0 0-0 0, David Swalve 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 14 3-7 32.

MESKWAKI (9-3) — Osceola Tyon 8 2-2 19, Larnell Bear 1 1-2 3, Evan Nelson 3 1-2 9, Bishop Chavez 6 0-1 12, Tiernan Wanatee 1 0-0 2, Dayvin Guevara 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 20 4-7 47.

W CHRISTIAN 6 13 4 9 — 32

MESKWAKI 8 11 6 22 — 47

3-Point Goals–WC 1 (Zwack), Meskwaki 3 (Nelson 2, Tyon). Team Fouls–WC 11, Meskwaki 12. Fouled out–none.