The Cottage School JV Cougars lost their first road game of the year on Thursday to the Lions of Al Falah Academy. Though the Cougars played hard and fought for the entire game, they were ultimately outmatched by a talented Lions team.
The Cougars held their own against the Lions in the first quarter. Liam Walsh scored 5 points, Matthew Placide battled for rebounds, and Grant Osgood, Austin Schwartz, and Alex Yager played tough defense. The Lions held a slim 7-5 lead after 1.
Turnovers were the Cougars’ undoing in the second quarter. The Cougars had no response to the increased defensive pressure from the Lions, and the lead quickly ballooned to 28-7 at the half. In the period, Nate Dunbar, Bryce Dickerson, and Javier Cremer provided quality minutes off the bench. Hunter Cool, Michael Coryer, and Andrew Marriott also contributed. Their hustle on defense helped to keep the Cougars’ hopes alive.
In the second half, the Cougars continued to struggle to break down the Lions’ zone defense. Grant Osgood got in on the scoring action, and Dustin Bartolome-Behrens made his first appearance of the season. Dustin came off the bench to score 5 points in the 4th quarter. The final score was 46-19. TCS will get another shot at Al Falah in December when the Lions travel to Roswell for a rematch.
