WEST PALM BEACH -- The Blanche Ely boys' basketball team will head into the New Year looking for their mojo. What little momentum Ely built in the first two rounds of the D-Hop Classic went out the window with a 76-73 overtime loss to Santaluces in the D-Hop championship game at Palm Beach Lakes on Monday.

The final play summed up what type of season the Tigers are having. With eight seconds left in overtime, a loose ball squirted out of a wild scramble and ended up in the hands of Santaluces guard Jeff Romeus standing alone on the left-baseline. Romeus, who couldn't buy a basket in the second half, calmly drained a game-winning three-pointer.

As the shot settled in the net Ely looked like a team that just had the wind knocked out of them. Again. In the third game of the season, the Tigers suffered one of their most embarrassing losses in history when archrival Boyd Anderson trounced them 72-37 at home. If that didn't raise the ire of the Tigers' faithful then a 59-57 loss two weeks later to North Broward Prep did the trick.

Despite a 9-3 record with the toughest part of the schedule ahead, Tigers senior 6-5 forward Bryce Clark preached patience Monday.

''It's always a learning process,'' Clark said. ``You learn from your mistakes and move on from there. We are moving the ball more and getting open shots. We just have to make our open shots. Everything happens for a reason.''

For some unknown reason, the Tigers have not played with the fire and tenacity associated with past Melvin Randall-coached teams. Regardless of their talent level, those Tigers teams prided themselves on the ability to wear down opponents with non-stop defensive pressure from the opening tip to the final buzzer. That has not been the case this year.

Against Boyd Anderson and Santaluces, in particular, the Tigers uncharacteristically allowed guards to beat them off the dribble and get to the basket for uncontested layups.

Offensively, the Tigers have gotten timely three-point shooting from David Jean-Jacques but not the consistent guard play needed to take them deep in the playoffs.

As the Tigers' most talented low-post player, Clark could play the biggest role in getting the ''Tigers Express'' back on track. Clark finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds against Santaluces but the boxscore didn't tell the whole story. Best known for his ability to score around the basket, Clark settled for outside jumpers which for all intents and purposes turned the Tigers into a one-dimensional team.

If the Tigers can rediscover their passion for defense and get Clark's low-post game going, they might start looking like the state contender many expected when the season started.

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