Cougars get first win of season with a 68-29 performance over the Cyclones
11/10/23: The Cottage School Cougars played host to the Cumberland Academy Cyclones in their first AAC contest of the season. The two teams battled evenly for most of the first two frames, but the Cougars dominated the second half to take a 68-29 victory.
The inside presence of Jackson Barnes, Colin Barlow, Jack Kane, and Gavin Akers was too much for the Cyclones on both ends of the floor. A variation of individual moves, beautiful passing, and offensive put backs earned TCS a 42-10 gut punch to Cumberland in the second half, which gave the Cougars their first win of the season and a 1-0 start to conference play. The difference inside the paint was night and day with the two teams. As a matter of fact, Cottage did so well on the glass they were three rebounds shy of breaking the school record for rebounds in a game with 68 (70 is record set in November of 2013). The physical domination of the glass earned them their first win of the season, ironically with the same number of points scored; 68-29.
In the first two frames, Cumberland matched Cottage basket for basket with several highlight reel moves and deep three-point shooting by nifty guards, #1-Perez and #0-Petagara taking a 16-11 early lead midway into the second period. The Cougars stayed focused on the game plan and tightened up their defense to close with a 26-19 edge at intermission.
The Cougars will have two more games before the Thanksgiving break. They host Mill Springs Academy for their second AAC contest on Wednesday night at the Cougar Center followed by a road game at Covenant Christian on Thursday.
Game Notes:
Jackson Barnes had a career game with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists.
Colin Barlow pulled down his first ever varsity double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Weston Kershner was all over the court. He led the team with 6 assists & 3 steals. He also put in 5 points and grabbed 5 boards.
Andrew Dorsey added 7 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Jack Kane put in 6 points and hauled down 9 boards.
Gavin Akers had a monster night and broke a school record with 18 rebounds in just his fourth ever Cougar contest. He too had a double-double also putting in 11 points.
The Cougars snatched the second most rebounds in one game with 68, as stated above.