November 5: Cougars lose close one to Oak Mountain 60-50
TCS hosted the Warriors of Oak Mountain last night in another tough matchup for the Cougars. Oak Mountain plays in GISA AA and is often a top 4 team in their region. This year will be no different.
The Warriors flexed their size and athleticism early taking a 18-9 first period advantage, but the Cougars stayed focused on team defense and rebounding. This lead to a strong second stanza were TCS outscored OMA 14-9 heading into halftime, down just 23-27.
Both teams fought back and forth for six minutes of the third quarter. The Cougars ran into a mental block over the final minute and a half and the Warriors took advantage. In that final 90 seconds, Oak Mountain went from up six points to a 51-35 edge to end the period. It appeared the Warrior talent was too much for TCS to handle over an entire contest.
The Cougars had a brief moment to collect themselves and decided if they were to go down, it was not without a fierce battle. TCS mounted another comeback like the second quarter and outscored OMA 15-9 in the final frame; ending in the 60-50 loss. Coach Briggs had this to say after the game; “Suroy and I are very pleased with the boys. Despite a long weekend (5 days off) they learned from the first game with some adjustments offensively and our defense was intense for all but two minutes of the game. We have two more days to work on some key things so that we are even better when we open up AAC competition, with rival Mill Springs Academy, on Friday.”
Game Notes:
Kyle Kimble had his best game as a Cougar in just his second contest on the varsity level. He had a team high of 15 points to go along with over five rebounds and several blocked shots.
Reese Bentley has put together two fine contests to start his junior year. He finished with 10 points and was also solid on the glass.
Tim Mattioli put in 11 points and had several steals.
Shane Hendrickson had one of his better games offensively with 8 points, but was huge on defense. He took four charges on the dazed and confused Warriors.
October 30: Wilson Warriors outlast TCS Cougars 44-35 in season opener
Both teams battled through three and a half periods of several lead changes. In the final four minutes Wilson was able to capitalize on Cougar quick shots and poor decision making to outscore TCS 12-4, leading to their 44-35 victory. Cottage contained Wilson’s strength of running the fast break, but not being patient on offense, long shots created five scoring breaks for the Warriors that sealed the Cougars fate.
Game Notes:
Aidan Briggs had a strong season opener with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
Reese Bentley did the same with also 9 points and had 6 rebounds.
Shane Hendrickson set the tone defensively, leading to a steal, charge, and 7 boards.
Ruslan van Kesteren had a solid newcomer performance. He knocked down two jump shots for 4 points and added 3 assists and 3 rebounds.
Go Cougars!
Proud coaches,
Suroy and Richie
