COUGARS 76 SENATORS 67

On paper, the Cougars looked like the underdogs to the much taller trees of the Senators, but luckily the home team wasn't bothered by the height disadvantage and proceeded to overwhelm their guests with defense for much of the night.

 

To say that the Senators had a cold-shooting first half would be a huge understatement, due in large part to the Constant Cougar defensive pressure, and much to the dismay of long-time Senator coach Bill Carlyle who was not a happy camper for much of the proceedings.

 

A pair of short buckets from Isaiah Farrior put the visitors on top 4-2, but a quick eight point run by the Cougars put them on top to stay. K'Juan Banks canned a three-pointer, Kobe Pride came off the bench and immediately converted a three-point play while Marcus Averhart hit a short jumper and a long shot from way downtown.

 

Neither team exactly lit up the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes with shooting percentages in the low 30's as the Cougars managed to hold on for a 25-20 halftime lead.

 

A 15-6 run to open the second half gave the Cougars a comfortable lead, but as it would turn out they would need every point. 

 

In what seemed like one of the longest halves in recorded basketball history, a very physical game resulted in a parade on both ends of the court to the free throw line for the final 10 plus minutes of the game. After combining for nine free tosses in the first half, both teams went to the line a combined 72 times in the second half.

 

When the dust had finally settled, Walters State was only able to hit 14 of their 30 free tosses while the Cougars knocked down 37 of their 51 tries. Six of those points for the Cougars came on three Techincal fouls called on the Senators as coach Carlyle continued his rather entertaining discussions with the three gentlemen wearing striped shirts for much of the night.

 

The Senators did manage to pull themselves together late in the game as they used a tremendous full-court-press to cause several Cougar turnovers for easy buckets late in the game, thus slicing a 19-point lead at the eight minute mark to only a five point spread with two minutes to go.

 

Three straight Senator three-pointers did most of the damage as Ronnie Thompson Jr., Ty Hurst and Josh Jerome all found the range from behind the line. The comeback would end there though as Averhart knocked down four crucial free tosses in the final minute to secure the win.

 

Cleveland State managed to shoot 40% for the game to 38% for the Senators, but hit only three of their 13 shots from downtown while the Senators hit 5 of 17 long range shots. Khris Green led the Cougars (6-3, 3-1) with 17 points, 7 rebounds and four steals, Averhart finished and outstanding effort with 15 points including 10-12 from the free throw line while Miguel Shaw chipped in with 11 points and 11 boards. Jerome paced the Senators (7-4, 2-3) with 19 points Farrior added 12 points and Hurst had 10.

 

Cleveland State will now hit the road on Saturday for a big Region matchup at Jackson State and then a trip to Gadsden State on Wednesday before the Christmas break then return home on January 5th to take on Motlow State.