Piedmont Boys Qualify for State
With the region tournament on the horizon the Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team earned needed region victories against LaGrange Academy and St. George on the road last week to close out the regular season.
The Cougars posted a 61-52 win against LaGrange Academy behind an 18-point performance by Ryan Holder. Tate Marks added 13 points while Bradley Greenwood also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Caleb Coffey added seven points for Piedmont while Luke Welch finished with six points, all from three-point range. The Cougars led 43-25 at halftime.
The Cougars then defeated St. George 55-38 on Feb. 7. Piedmont entered the region tournament 13-7 overall and 9-7 in region play during the regular season.
Piedmont entered the region tournament as a number four seed drawing a matchup with Oak Mountain. Coach Will Johnson said going into the final week of the regular season the Cougars could have been seeded anywhere from third through sixth for the region tournament.
The Cougars defeated Oak Mountain twice during the regular season and then punched their ticket to the upcoming state tournament with an 84-77 win in the region tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday.
The win was not easy and it took a 27-point fourth quarter by Piedmont to secure the victory. The Cougars trailed 61-57 after the third quarter but were able to rally in the game’s final eight minutes.
Holder scored 24 points while Marks added 20 in what turned out to be one of the team’s best offensive performances of the season. Piedmont had four players finish in double figures as Coffey scored 15 and Greenwood and Luke Welch both added 11.
Next up for the Cougars will be a region semifinal game against Furtah Prep Thursday at 8:30 p.m. This game will also be at LaGrange Academy. Furtah Prep is the two-time defending state champion.
“We went undefeated in the last week of the regular season and did a good job of staying focused on what we needed to do,” Johnson said.
Luke Welch, a freshman, has stepped into the starting lineup as his brother Jackson continued to recover from an injury. Johnson said he hopes Jackson Welch will be able to return at some point before the season concludes.
In the three games last week Luke Welch averaged 15 points.
In the win against St. George last Friday on the road, Coffey finished with a team-high 14 points with Luke Welch adding 13 points. Holder scored 10 points while Bradley Greenwood added eight. Marks finished with five points and Payton Wallace scored three. Cole Wade contributed two points.