By Stephen Henderson
The Patrick County High School varsity boys’ basketball team had a busy schedule just before the holiday break and after Christmas.
Before the holiday break, the Cougars hosted Danville to play the George Washington Eagles. They lost the contest 72-47. The following Thursday, the Cougars hosted North Stokes and lost a heart-breaker, 44-43.
After Christmas, Patrick County visited Rockingham County High School to play two games in the Reidsville Nissan Holiday Classic. In the first game last Wednesday, they won with a three-pointer in overtime to win 60-57. The second game saw the Cougars fall 57-43 to Western Alamance.
Finally, the Cougars played Bassett at home last Saturday and lost 62-40 when the game was called with just over six minutes left in the game due to a severe injury to a Bassett player.
In the December 19 game against Danville, the Cougars had a great beginning with a 12-3 run, but turnovers and poor rebounding hurt the team down the stretch.
“Our turnovers allowed them to get easy baskets and make a run in the second quarter,” said Coach Andrew Terry. “They had a big second quarter that put us in a hole we couldn’t climb out of,” Terry said.
The Eagles scored 29 points in the second quarter, leaving the score 46-32 at the half. The final was 72-47.
Brandon Hubbard was high scorer with 14 points and eight rebounds. Hunter Lawless scored 11 points, including three three-pointers. Josh Cockram picked up eight rebounds.
The Cougars shot 71% from the free throw line.
“We did some really good things tonight, and we will focus on those going forward while correcting the two major issues we are having–turnovers and rebounding,” said Terry.
December 21, the Cougars hosted North Stokes and lost by one point, 44-43.
“We had a great defensive effort, and we did a great job not allowing them to get open like they did the first game, but we didn’t get stops down the stretch to win the game,” said Terry. “We gave up a few big buckets that gave them the advantage,” he added.
“We never had a good offensive flow, and some key players had off games scoring which really hurt us. We had two shots at the end but couldn’t connect,” he lamented.
Brandon Hubbard led in scoring with 17 points and six rebounds. Darius Hagwood added 14 with six rebounds.
The Cougars were 11/16 at the free throw line for 69%.
The first round of the Reidsville Nissan Holiday Classic was a thriller for the Cougars. They won by one in overtime.
The Cougars were down five with 30 seconds in the game when Austin Walter had a tip-in at the 11-second mark to cut it to three. He missed a free throw and Hunter Lawless sent in a three-pointer to tie the game, sending it into OT. DeAndre Reynolds hit a three at the buzzer to win the game, 44-43.
“The holiday tournament was a tale of two teams we played well,” said Terry “The first game against Rockingham was fun to be a part of,” he added.
“We competed for most of the game but missed some easy opportunities that could have closed out the game earlier,” Terry said.
Hunter Lawless had 19 points completing five of 10 three-point shots. Austin Walter had 12 points and Brandon Hubbard added nine and 11 rebounds.
The Cougars shot 68% from the free throw line.
In the second game of the tournament against Western Alamance, “We didn’t show up,” Terry said.
“We were slow and defensively, we were undisciplined. We gave up too many offensive rebounds and had turnovers that led to run outs,” he added. “We could never get into an offensive flow,” he said.
The Cougars lost 57-43.
Brandon Hubbard had a big game with 16 points but was held to only four rebounds. Austin Walter scored eight.
The Cougars scored just over 50% from the free throw line.
Last Saturday’s game at home against Basset saw the game being called with 6:17 left on the clock after a Bassett player, Angel Rivera, suffered a severe leg injury.
With emotions running high after the injury, the game was called, according to Terry.
“The Bassett game was all about the transition defense and turnovers,” Terry said. “We had a great start offensively, but defensively, we gave up easy baskets not getting back on defense,” he said.
In the second quarter, the Cougars were outscored by 12 because of turnovers and offensive rebounds.
“The same thing happened in the third that let them extend their lead to 20 early in the fourth, Terry said.
“We have a lot of things we have to fix going down the stretch in the second half of the season,” Terry said. “We have the potential but execution has not been there consistently,” he added. “We have to figure it out if we want to be successful the second half of the season,” Terry said.
The Cougars host Gretna tonight (Wednesday) and host Magna Vista Friday night. Tuesday, they host Martinsville.
Cutlines
Frankie LaComa glides in for a layup against George Washington of Danville. (Photos by Stephen Henderson)
DeAndre Reynolds squeezes off a shot against Rockingham Co.
Austin Walker leaps for a layup in last week’s game against Rockingham Co.
Josh Cockram looks for a shot against Rockingham County.
DeAndre Reynolds attempts a quick jumper against Rockingham County.
