WARNER – The Groton Tigers pounced on Warner from the opening tip and never looked back at Warner Gym Tuesday night.

The Tigers bolted out to a 16-2 advantage in the first five minutes and claimed a 69-34 non-conference boys’ basketball win.

“That was our game plan. Having a game plan and executing it are two separate things,” said Groton coach Brian Dolan. “They’re big and they’re a really good half-court offensive team and we didn’t want them to play in the half court. So our goal was to speed them up, try to make them play transition, try to get them to make quick decisions before they were ready to make them.”

With pressure coming from every angle, the Monarchs were never able to get into an offensive flow and never had a chance to take advantage of that half-court offense.

“There’s not a Class B team that plays to that level of pressure that they put on you,” said Warner coach Derek Hoellein. “It just wears on you.”

While Groton’s defense was suffocating throughout the evening, it hasn’t always been that way this season. The Tigers have struggled a bit on defense in their two losses on the season.

“Our Pine Ridge game, we didn’t play as well as we wanted to defensively. We let up 70 points,” said Groton senior Lane Tietz. “That’s been a big factor for us this year. We let up 70 points twice now, so in practice we’re just trying to focus on defense. Obviously, we just want our defense to translate to our offense.”

Offense was definitely not a problem for the Tigers on Tuesday thanks to the sharp-shooting Tietz, who lit up the scoreboard for 26 points in the opening half. His scoring barrage included five 3-pointers and he shot 9 for 14 from the field powering Groton to a 44-12 first-half cushion.

Of course, the Tigers’ defense led to numerous transition baskets as well and prevented Warner from getting into a rhythm.

“It’s really tough when you’ve got those guards pressing up on you,” said Warner center Zach Evans. “They’re playing tough defense the whole game.”

While the Monarchs may have had a size advantage inside, they had no answer for Groton’s quickness out front.

“They’re athletes. They’re a bunch of track stars down there,” Evans said. “They’re a run and gun offense, tough defense, that was just a difference maker.”

In the end, Groton was able to take advantage of its strength before the Monarchs could use theirs.

“Derek does a great job of coaching that team and they’re going to win a lot of games,” Dolan said. “Our strength is probably their weakness and they’re strength is probably our weakness.”

Hoellein kept the game in perspective following just the second setback of the season for the Monarchs.

“I told the guys we just have to learn from it,” Hoellein said. “Like I said, we’re not going to play a team like this for the rest of the season. We have to take what we went through tonight, learn from it, and move forward.”

Evans said a lopsided loss can actually be beneficial in the long run.

“These punch you in the face games, they’re great for teams, I think,” he said.

Evans topped Warner with a dozen points, and also hauled down a handful of rebounds and blocked a shot.

“Zach played very well on both ends,” Hoellein said. “He did a nice job of protecting the basket and when he had his opportunities he scored.”

Brodey Sauerwein contributed 10 points and seven rebounds for Warner, which hosts Ipswich on Thursday.

Ryder Johnson added 16 points for Groton, which hosts Clark-Willow Lake on Friday.

Jacob Zak just missed out on a triple double. Zak finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He and Tietz fed each other for multiple baskets during the opening half.

“That’s my guy. We’ve been playing together since second grade, so we’re kind of the Batman and Robin duo,” Tietz said. “He’s really been that guy I’ve leaned on ever since. He’s leaned on me and I’ve leaned on him. I’m so thankful to have him on my team.”

Tietz said that his senior running mate can impact games in a variety of ways.

“Jacob isn’t always the leading scorer, but he affects the game in so many different ways,” Tietz said. “He’s Mr. Versatile for us.”

GROTON (4-2): Lane Tietz 9 3-3 26, Jacob Zak 4 2-2 12, Logan Ringgenberg 2 1-1 5, Ryder Johnson 6 2-2 16, Teylor Diegel 2 0-2 4, Blake Pauli 1 0-0 3, Easton Weber 1 0-0 3. Totals 25-46 9-11 69.

WARNER (3-2): Hunter Cramer 2 2-4 7, Drew Bakeberg 1 1-2 3, Zach Evans 5 2-3 12, Brodey Sauerwein 4 2-3 10, Jesiah Baum 1 0-1 2, Payton Volk 0 0-2 0. Totals 13-36 7-15 34.

Groton 21 44 58 69

Warner 7 12 22 34

3-point field goals – Tietz (5), Zak, Johnson (2), Pauli, Weber; Cramer. Total fouls – Groton 17; Warner 11. Rebounds – Groton 25 (Zak 10); Warner 18 (Sauerwein 7). Turnovers – Groton 3; Warner 9. Assists – Groton 20 (Zak 8). Blocked Shots – Groton 1 (Zak); Warner 3 (Cramer, Sauerwein, Evans). Steals – Groton 5 (Diegel 2).