Howard defeats Cottage on third try; 55-43
2/13/23: The Cottage School Cougars took on the Howard Hawks in the semi-final round of the 2023 AAC varsity basketball playoffs. TCS came in as the #2 seed with a 10-2 record and Howard finished 9-3 in the AAC. The Cougars beat the Hawks twice during the season but both games were close. Tonight, was Howard’s night as they outhustled Cottage on both ends of the court for a 55-43 victory. Howard moves on to play the #1 seed Tapestry Titans in the championship. Tapestry was 11-1 in the AAC with Howard the only team to beat them.
With the Cougars trailing throughout the entire second half, the score read 48-42 Hawks with .46 seconds remaining. TCS had possession and worked the ball around for a critical score. Instead a pass was dropped out of bounds and Howard regained possession. Cottage had to gamble for a steal or foul, as they did the final three minutes. It paid off coming back from eleven points down but now had to foul to stop the clock and put the pressure on the Hawks to make free throws. They connected on six of seven free throws in that final minute, while the Cougars came down and misfired on their final three shots. Howard earned the 55-43 win. Coach Briggs spoke after the contest. “Much respect and credit go to Coach Xaverian and his team. No matter what, his kids played hard the whole game. They were hungrier than we were, jumping on loose balls and running the floor with more energy. The better team won tonight.”
Howard jumped on Cottage early taking a 12-7 edge after the first period. The Cougars battled back after a water spill incident late in the second frame. There was about a 15 minute delay to clean up the area and afterwards, TCS made a run and took an 18-17 lead at halftime.
The iron continued to stay unkind for the Cougars however, as they only made three baskets in the third period. Overall, Cottage shot close to 30% from the floor for the game, but again some of that was the up-tempo style Howard brought tonight and TCS could not figure out how to get the games’ tempo in their favor. The Hawks outscored Cottage 18-6 in that quarter for a 35-24 lead.
The fourth frame went back and forth so the Cougars could never get under a 10 point deficit, until those final three minutes when they went on a 12-6 run.
Wednesday the Cougars will take on the Cumberland Academy Cyclones (6-6) for the consolation prize. The game will tip off at 4:30 PM. The Lady Cougars took care of business over AASD and will play at 6:00 PM for a chance for a 3-Peat vs the Howard Hawks.
Game Notes:
Andrew Dorsey finished with a team high of 13 points.
Jackson Barnes pulled down a team high of 10 boards and scored 5 points.
Jack Kane added 10 points and 4 rebounds.
Braden Kramer scored 11 points and had 3 steals.
