Cougars Are Lucky With 13
The number 13 is associated with being unlucky, but the Piedmont Academy varsity boys basketball team likes the number just fine.
The Cougars recorded their 13th win of the 2005-06 season Tuesday night in a non-region contest against Windsor. Piedmont’s 55-46 win improved the team to 13-5 overall.
Coach Chip Champion said his team did not play that well, but was able to escape with the victory. Lance Richardson paced the Cougars with 17 points and was the only Piedmont player in double figures.
“It was a physical game and that is not our style,” Champion said. “However, a win is a win and we’ll take it.”
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It was Piedmont’s off night in the region but it was able to schedule the game against Windsor.
Whit Morgan added nine points for Champion’s team while Cris Jackson and Zac Hauther both scored eight.
The Cougars also defeated non-region foe John Hancock 51-42 Monday as three players were in double figures. Hauther and Richardson both scored 13 while Taylor Jackson finished with 10.
“John Hancock is another physical team, but we were able to do what we had to do in order to win,” Champion said. “We tried some different things since it was a non-region game, and to be honest, some of the things we tried didn’t work too well.”
Piedmont’s only region game in recent days was last Friday against Briarwood. The Cougars defeated the Buccaneers 56-44 to improve to 5-1 in region play.
“That was a big win for us,” Champion said. “We got balanced scoring which is something we need. I’d rather have several players in double figures than have one score 25 and no one else have 10.”
Richardson finished with 14 points while Taylor Jackson scored 13 and Hauther added 11.
The game was close early but a 22-10 run in the fourth quarter proved to be a deciding factor for Champion’s team.
The Piedmont boys are now tied with Gatewood and Briarwood with one loss in region play.
The Cougars have already passed one goal this season which was to earn more wins than the team from two years ago which recorded 12 victories.
“It’s good that we have passed that goal, but we now have set new goals we would like to meet,” the coach said. “This is a team that can make some noise in the postseason.”
The Piedmont Academy Lady Cougars fell to Windsor 64-55 Tuesday night. Coach Kenny Roberts said the difference was the fact his team didn’t play as well as it needed to defensively.
“We can’t allow a team to score more than 60 points and expect to win,” Roberts said. “As a team, we just didn’t play well enough defensively.”
It was a standout game for senior Bailey Myers, however, who finished with 21 points, including a 5-of-6 performance from the free throw line. Myers also had nine rebounds.
Carrie Tucker added 15 points while Kirstie Lewis finished with 11, including a 7-of-10 night from the free throw line.
Roberts said there were some positives from the game as his Lady Cougars cut down on their turnovers and did not allow as many offensive rebounds.
The Lady Cougars recorded a 43-36 non-region win Monday against John Hancock. Tucker was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points while Lewis scored nine and Myers added eight.
“We led for most of the game,” Roberts said. “I also thought freshman Crystal Freeman did a good job for us.”
The Piedmont girls lost a region heartbreaker to Briarwood last week 56-54.
Briarwood scored the game-winning basket with just seconds left.
“We played so hard in that game,” Roberts said. “We also scored more points than we usually do.”
Tucker finished with 23 points, eight rebounds and five steals. In her last four games, Tucker is averaging 21 points.
Emily Beckham added 12 points and 10 boards while Lewis finished with eight points.
Piedmont led at halftime and trailed by two after the third quarter. Both teams scored 15 points in the game’s final eight minutes.
The Piedmont Academy varsity basketball teams will return to action Friday when they travel to Brentwood. Piedmont will also travel to Gatewood Tuesday. Games both nights will begin at 6 p.m.