Cougars reach 10 wins with close 41-38 victory over Cyclone
1/12/23: The Cottage School Cougars played host to the Cumberland Academy Cyclones in their second AAC contest of the season. Cumberland made it tough for TCS, but the Cougars found a way to pull it out late to sweep the Cyclones with a 41-38 win, which also gave Cottage their tenth victory of the season to keep that streak alive. Cottage has now won ten or more games in sixteen straight seasons.
Cumberland took a 36-34 edge at the 3:30 mark in the fourth period and it appeared the Cyclones were going to steal an AAC road win. TCS bounced back connecting on a free throw and after a stop, made a layup to go back ahead 37-36. The Cyclones never quit and on a long rebound attacked the basket to go back up 38-37.
After a timeout Cottage executed a critical offensive possession but missed the shot. Jackson Barnes hustled for the offensive rebound drained a short-corner jumper at the 2-minute mark for the go-ahead lead 39-38.
Cougar coach, Richie Briggs called a timeout to discuss their defensive set down the stretch. The Cougars stayed focused and did not allow another point in those final two minutes.
Neither team could score for the next 115 seconds. The Cyclones missed a key basket but hustled back on defense to prevent a Cottage counter. The Cougars played smart knowing they had the one-point lead in their favor and went into four corner mode passing the ball around as Cumberland chased to foul on purpose to stop the clock. Cottage burned .30 seconds off the clock before finally going to the charity stripe. TCS missed the front end of the one and one, so Cumberland had possession with just 5.6 seconds remaining and called their final timeout. The Cougar defense needed to come through one last time and did. Andrew Dorsey, who had been the rock for his team all night long (more on him below), stole a pass with some full court pressure and was fouled with one second remaining.
He buried both free throws for the 3-point cushion with one second left. Cumberland had to go 84 feet but once the ball was inbounded the buzzer sounds and Cottage held on for the 41-38 win.
The game was tight throughout. Cumberland held a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, but the Cougars went on a 10-6 run in the second to take a 20-19 edge at intermission. The Cougar defense suffocated the Cyclones again in the third stanza, but still struggled offensively so only held a 32-26 advantage after three. With Cottage keeping the underdog close, momentum did shift to the road team but as stated above the Cougars made some big plays late to come away with a key AAC victory.
The Cottage School is now 10-7 overall and 6-1 in the AAC. They will take on a strong Fulton Science team here at the Cougar Center on Friday night in their second matchup of the season. FSA defeated the TCS 68-49 back on 11/17 @ FSA.
Game Notes:
Andrew Dorsey recorded his first double-double of his varsity career with 13 points & 11 rebounds. He also added 6 assists and 5 steals. He now has 52 steals this season with another 11 games to play.
Jackson Barnes pulled down 6 boards to go with his 4 points, which includes that late crucial basket.
Weston Kershner’s effort was outstanding. He corralled 4 steals and moved the ball well.
Braden Kramer finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Jack Kane added 6 points and 4 boards.
Nick Elliott took a charge, scored a bucket, and pulled down 4 rebounds.
Jason Donaldson added 6 points and snagged 3 balls off the glass.
Maxwell Lagan came through with a key blocked shot late in the game when Cumberland was making a run. He finished with 3 blocks, a basket, and 4 rebounds.
Liam Walsh provided a spark off the bench defensively, deflecting passes. He added an assist and a board with zero turnovers.
