TCS Cougars take two of three straight road games before Thanksgiving break
The Cottage Cougars traveled to Mill Springs Tuesday (November 15th), to Cumberland on Wednesday, then finished off at Fulton Science before enjoying Thanksgiving break. The first two were Atlanta Athletic Conference opponent victories to remain undefeated in the AAC at 3-0. Fulton Science has grown to almost 1,000 students so are now playing in AAA for the GIAA (what used to be GISA). This growth has brought in some new talent that was too much down the stretch for TCS to handle on Thursday night.
In the first contest of the week, TCS won 52-13 over the Mustangs of MSA. This game was never close as Cottage took a ten-point lead early and added on to it each quarter. TCS did a great job moving the ball on offense which saw seven different players scoring. Defensively, the Cougars suffocated Mill Springs and they never scored more than four points in any period.
Jackson Barnes pulled down 11 rebounds to go with 8 points and 3 assists.
Andrew Dorsey also scored 8 points and grabbed 10 boards with 2 steals.
Maxwell Lagan broke a freshman record with 6 blocked shots. He added 9 points and 7 rebounds.
Braden Kramer led the team with 10 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals.
Jason Donaldson had 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Jack Kane put in 7 points and had 4 boards.
Weston Kershner moved the ball well gaining 4 assists and grabbed 3 rebounds and scored a basket.
Game two at Cumberland was a battle, but TCS held on and won 55-37. It marked the first time the Cyclones played a varsity match versus Cottage. They have been in the AAC for a decade but have slowly built their program to have enough competitive basketball kids. Their AD and head coach, Rodney Carlock has done an excellent job and he has that program playing with intensity and joy. It wasn’t until midway through the third period before the Cougars could make a run.
Cottage outscored Cumberland 20-11 in that third frame for a 42-28 edge and in the fourth kept the lead and won 55-37.
Jackson Barnes had a career night in both points and rebounds. He finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists, and a blocked shot.
Braden Kramer led the team with 16 points and 8 assists and added 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
Jason Donaldson pulled down his first double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards.
Nick Elliott scored his first career varsity basket and snagged 5 rebounds.
Jack Kane hauled in 10 boards and scored 4 points.
Liam Walsh knocked down a clutch three pointer in the second quarter when Cumberland was only down four points.
The Cougars dropped the final contest to Fulton Science 68-49, but the score does not do justice. It was 46-42 with a minute remaining in the third stanza. Credit goes to the FSA Mustangs for their defensive effort in the final frame but playing their third game in a row may have taken a toll on the Cougars’ legs down the stretch. FSA jumped all over the flat Cottage team that last quarter outscoring them 22-7 for the blowout victory.
TCS outscored Fulton Science 19-14 in the first period, thanks to hot shooting from Braden Kramer (more on his historic night below). FSA came back to tie it at 30 at halftime and it remained back and forth until the final two minutes of that third frame. FSA then put the game away with a 68-49 victory.
Braden Kramer became just the 7th Cougar in history to score 30 points in a game. He connected on six three pointers (which is one shy of the most in school history in one game). He finished with 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Four of his threes came in the first quarter where he scored 15 of his 30.
Jason Donaldson put together a nice game with 8 points and 4 boards.
Andrew Dorsey batted foul trouble but did add 5 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Jackson Barnes had an off night offensively but did produce with 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
The Cottage Cougars come back from break with back-to-back home games versus Howard on Wednesday (30th) and to open December will host another AAA GIAA team, Cristo Rey High School.
