Cougars Move To 4-0 for Hoops Season

The Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team remained perfect last Friday with a 20-point road win against Brentwood in Sandersville.

The Cougars (4-0 overall) recorded a 59-39 win as a trio of players finished in double figures. Ryan Holder led Piedmont with 18 points while Bradley Greenwood scored 17 and Jackson Welch added 13 and 11 rebounds.

Leading 11-9 after the first quarter, Piedmont held a 30-25 advantage at halftime. By the end of the third quarter, however, the Cougar lead had increased to 13 points.

“Brentwood has three really good sophomore players,” said coach Will Johnson. “They are young but are going to be a very good team in their region during the next couple of years.”

Cole Wade contributed five points while Luke Welch added four. Spencer Carter added two points.

Holder made three field goals, two 3-pointers and was 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Johnson said he has been impressed by his team’s defensive play early in the season.

“We started a little slow but then picked up our level of play,” the coach said. “We held another opponent under 50 points. It we continue to do that we will be successful. We played with a lot of energy.”

Will Wright led the Brentwood Eagles with 16 points.

The Cougars have enjoyed a successful start to the new season despite very limited preseason practice.

“We had several returning players who had been in the system for several seasons,” Johnson said.

Piedmont hosted Terrell Academy Tuesday and earned a 54-48 victory.

“It was very close all the way through,” Johnson said. “We handled the pressure throughout the game.”

Greenwood finished with a team-high 18 points including some key free throws. Luke Welch added 13 points and Holder also finished in double figures with 10. Jackson Welch scored seven points and Cole Wade finished with six points.

“We played well defensively holding them under 50 points,” Johnson said. “It was a great overall night. We do need to cut down on turnovers. We could have won by 10 or 15 points. They did a good job on getting offensive rebounds. Terrell is a top five team in AA so I was impressed with how we performed.”

The tough early season schedule continues next week when Piedmont competes in a tournament in Alabama. First up will be host Glenwood on Monday at 5:30 p.m. The Cougars will then play Lee-Scott Academy on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m.

“It doesn’t get any easier for us,” Johnson said. “Glenwood is the number one ranked team in their region. Lee-Scott will be another good test.”

Once Piedmont returns to the court in January it faces Creekside, who is undefeated in AAA.

“There are no easy games for us,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to keep pushing and playing good basketball and stay healthy.”