Cougars clip Hawks on Senior Night; win 53-34
2/8/24: The Cottage School Cougars travelled to Atlanta to take on AAC rival, the Howard Hawks. Just two weeks ago, Howard played TCS on Senior Night in Roswell and won in overtime. The Cougars continued to slip in the AAC standings after that loss and fell to the #4 seed going into the playoffs but still had one final regular season game. Howard needing to win to secure the top seed and playing red hot basketball, winning 10 of their final 11 AAC contests, came in very confident. The Cougars got going early and often to take a comfortable lead and never looked back getting revenge from their Senior Night, returning the favor on Howard’s. TCS won 53-34 and will now play MSA in the first round of the playoffs. Howard fell to the #2 seed, losing the tiebreak to MSA (Mustangs beat them twice).
The Cougars jumped on the Hawks taking a 13-3 first period edge and continued precise offensive execution in combination with dominant defense earning a 29-9 halftime lead. Despite the cushion Coach Richie was not content speaking at the break; “We held them to 12 points at our place, so this game is not over. We know they will amp up the tempo and when they do, we need to have some poise and control it. Failing to do this in five of our past six games, we have practiced and prepared for it so look to prove we can before the playoffs start next week.”
Though it was not perfect, the Cougars scratched even in the third period and still held a 40-18 advantage. Just as coach expected, Howard did go on a small run forcing four of five straight Cottage turnovers in the fourth, but their defense made some big stops on the other end and with the big lead it never really hurt TCS. The Cougars went perfect from the field in the fourth quarter (5-5), moving the ball around looking for the most efficient shot while killing some clock at the same time. TCS finished with the 53-34 victory and look forward to the playoffs next Monday.
The Cougars (8-4) will take on the top seed, MSA Mustangs (9-3) on Monday night at Mill Springs Academy at 7:30 PM. These two split the season series. The Lady Cougars will play at 6:00 PM also playing MSA so come on over to turn that green gym into purple!
Game Notes:
Maxwell Lagan ended with a huge night. He finished with 17 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks,and 2 steals.
Jack Kane hauled down 12 boards and dished out 6 assists to go with 5 points.
Jackson Barnes came just short of a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.
Andrew Dorsey did not turn the ball over once. His poise earned him 11 points and 3 steals.
Weston Kershner and Gabriel Belden worked together to help stop the dynamic duo of #32-Schulman and #1-Roberts. These two have proven to be two of the top three guards in the AAC this season. Schulman was held to 8 points and Roberts to 11 points, most of those came in junk minutes late. Both guards knocked down early three-pointers to extend the Cougars’ lead.