Varsity Cougars Win Against JMA, Lady Cougars’ Coach Sees Positives
The Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team continued its recent success with a 52-49 road win against John Milledge Academy.
The victory was the third of the week for coach Will Johnson’s team which had also defeated Gatewood and Brandon Hall. The quality win was not lost on the Piedmont coach.
“The win was huge for us,” Johnson said. “We knew we were going into a great environment and to get that win says a lot about our players.”
Sam Wright continued his standout season and scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds against John Milledge. That performance following a 20 points and 10 rebound contest against Gatewood and a 35 points and 15 rebound game in the win against Brandon Hall.
“We have started clicking at the right time,” Johnson said. “Brandon Hall was 6-1 in region and entered the game 11-2 overall. Our intensity has picked up. We are playing with passion and heart. That is showing in our defensive effort. In the last three games we have held our opponent to 50 points or less.”
Tate Marks has averaged 15 points and five assists in recent action. Bradley Greenwood and Ryan Holder also drew the praise of their coach. Marks and Holder both scored 10 in the win against JMA
“Clay Jones has also been a big part of what we are accomplishing,” Johnson said. “He makes us go defensively. We are finding out that good things will happen when you play together.”
Jones also poured in six points to help the offensive attack against the Trojans. Bradley Greenwood was 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
Going into this week the Cougars were 6-1 in their last seven games.
“We want to keep working,” Johnson said. “I am proud of the effort we are giving. The players have bought into what we are doing. I am not sure of the last time when we have swept John Milledge and also defeated Gatewood in the same season.”
The Lady Cougars fell to John Milledge 42-25. Madison McCart led the girls with nine points while Lucy Tuggle scored five.
Hailey Hooper, Gracie Hunt, Haley Ann Frank, Jayden Young and Madison Johnson each added two points while Maddie Waddleton scored a free throw.
Despite the loss coach Michael Wilson said he is pleased with the progress the Lady Cougars are showing.
“Obviously I’d like a win or two more but ultimately we are 5-2 in region and right where we need to be to get a good seed in the region tournament and advance to state,” Wilson said. “It’s been a challenging year for us. We have only had our entire team healthy and able to play for four games this year. However, the positive to that is extra playing time for some that may not have had the opportunity to play as many meaningful minutes. Maddie Waddleton has really stepped in and played well and as a result we are really looking for her to continue to give us quality minutes the rest of the way.”
The Lady Cougars have already achieved some milestones in 2018-2019.
“Beating Gatewood was something this team can take pride in,” Wilson said. “We played together for a common goal and were successful. It definitely means something to beat Gatewood. They are a premier program and one I’ve used as a measuring stick since I’ve been here. To close the gap on them is a credit to the hard work the girls have done the last few years.”
He continued,” We would’ve liked to break a couple more streaks against John Milledge and Brentwood but we competed with those teams and were missing two starters in each of the games against them.”
Several players have performed well on the court in various phases of the game for the varsity girls.
“Madison McCart has played really well this year,” her coach said. “She’s had to do a lot of extra things with all the injuries but she’s really shown some maturity in taking on whatever the team needs from here. She’s giving us 14 points and 10 rebounds a game while handling the basketball a majority of the game. We ask a lot and she provides for us.
Teammates Tuggle, Young and Frank also draw the praise of their coach in how they have performed and helped provide leadership.
“Lucy has battled through some injuries but when she’s been healthy she has been a big difference for us offensively,” Wilson said. “Jayden has been given the job of defending the other team’s best player each game and her work is part of the reason we are giving up less points a game this year against a significantly more difficulty schedule. She and Haley Ann create a lot of turnovers and limit teams scoring chances.”
Sydney Stroud has also battled injury and the team notices her absence when she is not on the court.
“She gives us an extra ball handler on the court and is someone who can get to the foul line and shoot well,” said Wilson. “She also is a sneaky good rebounder. It’s tough midseason to make up 15 and 16 points and 10 rebounds a game that Sydney and Lucy give us but to the credit of the team the next one up is doing their part and helping us out.”
Hooper has been a key player in various roles for her team.
“She’s second in the team in scoring and rebounding behind Madison and without her on the team we would have struggled greatly in a couple of key games,” her coach said. “Mattie Johnston has also given us great minutes at several positions throughout the season. Much like Hooper, without her contributions in different areas we would be in a much different situation.”
“Deacon Robinson and Gracie Hunt have come in and given us more per minute than anyone on the team. That’s important because with them being seniors and not seeing as many minutes as they would like it could serve as an opportunity to sulk and not give us their best. They see time in every game and in every game they give us their best and provide us points, rebounds and defensive stops. Minutes like those are invaluable to our success.”
As the team begins to head down the stretch of the regular season there are some areas that can be improved upon.
“We have to continue to improve on defense and really commit to being a great defensive team if we are to advance farther than we have in years past,” Wilson said. “Offensively, we have to be more efficient and not waste opportunities to score points. I’m excited to see what the rest of the season has in store for us if we keep working hard and getting better in the areas we need. We can’t be satisfied with what has happened this year if we want to meet our goals.”
The varsity teams will travel to LaGrange Academy Friday, Jan. 18 for games beginning at 6 p.m. and also host Flint River Academy Saturday, Jan. 19 at 6 p.m.