Cougars Squads Are Playing Well
The Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team won two of its three outings last week and improved its overall record to 5-3 for the season.
For Chip Champion, the record is good, but the coach believes it could actually be better.
“A 5-3 record is not bad, but we really could be 7-1,” Champion said. “The great thing is we are playing well without seniors. Overall, I am pleased.”
Piedmont defeated Nathanael Greene 62-36 Monday night for its latest victory. Josh Phillips paced the Cougars with 16 points followed by nine from both Taylor Jackson and Whit Morgan.
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“We played a little sloppy,” Champion said. “Nathanael Greene plays a physical brand of basketball and it can make the game turn sloppy. Right now we need to be a little more consistent for the entire game.”
Prior to Monday’s win, the Cougars competed in a tournament hosted by Trinity in Dublin. Piedmont was the third-place team, but Champion said his Cougars should have won the tournament.
Piedmont began the tournament with a 45-41 overtime loss to Westfield. A slow start by the Cougars proved too much to recover from as Westfield led 27-11 at halftime.
Champion saw his team bounce back and tie the contest at 40 at the end of the fourth quarter. A balanced scoring attack was led by Phillips with 11 and Zac Hauther with nine. Lance Richardson scored eight and Taylor Jackson finished with seven.
“We played poorly in the first half,” Champion said. “I think we were a little intimidated to begin with. Westfield is a AAA school and they had a size advantage on us. We played well in the second half, but we had run out of gas by that point.”
Champion’s team did defeat Trinity 45-38 in the third-place game. The Cougars led 30-12 at halftime. Hauther finished with 14 points and 13 boards while Jackson, playing point guard, had 10 assists.
Piedmont will begin region play this Friday wen it travels to Monroe Academy in Forsyth. (Varsity games begin at 6 p.m.).
“The way our region is shaping up, I don’t see anyone that is head and shoulders above us,” Champion said. “We just have to take care of business the next few weeks.”
The Piedmont Academy Lady Cougars have also been playing well lately. The Piedmont girls defeated Nathanael Greene 39-24 Monday as Carrie Tucker poured in 22 points and had 15 steals.
Emily Beckham had 13 rebounds Monday night while Kirstie Lewis scored seven points.
The Lady Cougars also finished third at the tournament hosted by Trinity last weekend. Piedmont fell to Westfield 60-44 in the opener, but managed a 43-41 win against Southwest Georgia in the game for third place.
In the win against Southwest Georgia, Tucker scored 14 points while Myers added 11 points and 11 boards. Beckham finished with 10 points.
Myers was the team’s leading scorer against Westfield with 17 while Tucker added eight points and five steals.
“We have won two games in a row and I don’t think that’s been done in the last couple of years,” said Lady Cougar coach Kenny Roberts. “We are improving every game. I am very proud of this team.”
As one sign of improvement, Roberts noted his team barely got by Nathanael Greene earlier this season by five points, but then recorded a 15-point victory Monday.
The Lady Cougars travel to Monroe Academy Friday to begin region play.
“We have a chance to win if we do what we need to do,” the coach said of the region opener.