Cougars lose first game back from Thanksgiving break to Panthers 67-27

12/1/2021: The Cottage School Cougars hosted the Brandon Hall Panthers on Wednesday night. Brandon Hall is a GHSA school but used to be an AAC member for over 20 years. During this time BH and TCS had some classic contests and even played each other in three AAC championship games (TCS winning two of the three). They left the fall of 2014 and joined GISA full time than three years ago joined the GHSA. Now rich in talent, the Panthers are a force, but the Cougars are coming off another successful season and hoped to match them.

Both cats went back and forth for the entire first period. The Panthers were able to muscle in two more baskets and took a 12-8 lead. The Cougar defense continued to give Brandon Hall fits in the second frame, but TCS shot at a very low percentage putting even more pressure on their defense. The Panthers were able to stay calm and loose without their opponent hitting shots. At intermission, TCS found themselves down 30-16 but really felt confident. Coach Briggs spoke at the break; “If we can make some shots, we can get back in this game. Suroy and I are so proud of their effort and focus on the defensive end and their patience on offense. The problem is the iron has been very unkind.”

In the second half, the opposite occurred for Coach Briggs and his team. The Cougars continued to misfire and to add to it, they got sloppy. Turnovers turned into Panther layups and what was a close game became a rout. Brandon Hall went on a 26-10 run and all but ended the contest. The Panthers finished the Cougars off 67-27, giving TCS just their second loss of the season.

Tomorrow the Cougars look to regroup. They will travel to Atlanta Jewish Academy.

Games Notes

Blake Lackey had one of his strongest games of the year. His hustle and effort on both ends of the floor kept the game close in the first half. Blake finished with 7 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, a steal and 4 points.

Aidan Briggs was one rebound shy of a double-double with 11 points and 9 boards. He also took 3 charges and stole 2 balls.

Alex Hogg scored 7 points and had 6 rebounds and 3 blocks.

Braden Kramer hit two baskets in the first quarter for 5 points to go with 4 rebounds.