The Clarksville Academy Cougars clearly weren’t satisfied with their three-point halftime lead over the Northwest Vikings on Tuesday night.
The two teams scrapped for the first 16 minutes of the season, but when they came out of the break, the game had turned from a toss-up to a throwdown. The Cougars exploded for 49 second half points, including a 28-point third quarter, to beat Northwest 75-44.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best shot,” said Clarksville Academy head coach Tyler Hickman. “Our guys responded obviously in the second half, I think we held them to 23 and 21. Obviously exploded for 50 in the second half. Transition buckets get us started. We’ve got to be better even if those aren’t working right now in the half-court.”
After being held in check for just two made free throws in the first half, Cougar wing Eddie Ricks detonated for 16 points, most of which came in the third quarter before he sat down with the game in hand. He, along with Paris Pridgen and Keith Richburg, dominated in transition, throwing down several electrifying dunks and converting through contact to get the crowd at Proctor Court buzzing throughout the night.
Even still, Hickman believes that his team is more than just a run-and-gun group of athletes. He thinks they could have been even better than they played.
“It’s really good, but the fact is we (can) shoot it so much better than we shot it tonight,” Hickman said. “It’s good to be able to adjust and have another option. Those guys getting downhill, making plays in transition… Obviously we’re really athletic. That helps in what we’re trying to do. We’ve just got to be able to build depth and grow.”
The Cougars made just two 3-pointers all game.
Northwest was the better shooting team, making six triples, but turnovers plagued them after halftime. They were held to just 21 points in the final 16 minutes.
“We started turning the ball over and giving up second shots,” said NWHS head coach Aaron Wallus. “We got a little bit shell-shocked as soon as they got in the press. We didn’t execute what we wanted to execute. There’s no defense for a turnover, especially with a team this athletic. It’s going to be a dunk, it’s going to be a layup. They’re going to get back in it. We’ll learn from it.”
With their offense went their defense. They played tenacious on-ball defense in the first half, but as the game got progressively out of hand, that intensity began to dissipate.
It’s natural that the Vikings will have trouble scoring early this season. They graduated one of the most dynamic scorers in school history, Ametri Moss, from last year’s team. In his stead are touches on every possession and nearly 26 points per game.
But, in an almost paradoxical way, it allows Wallus and the Vikings to open the playbook and get more players involved.
“It helps in the sense that my default offense is not the ball in his hands creating a one-on-one shot,” Wallus said. “That wasn’t all we tried to do, but that was usually what we’d fall to. We’d look to him and we’d have guys standing and watching.
“Now, we do have to move the ball. We do have to share the ball. We do have to execute offensively. It’s going to help me as a coach. Now, I want Ametri Mosses on my team all day, because he’s a player and he’s giving it every day and he can go get a bucket. It makes a difference, but it’s going to help our program.”
The Vikings will look to secure their first win of the season on Saturday when they play in the West Creek Coyote Classic against Beech and West Creek. The Cougars will face the same two teams on Saturday.
BOX SCORE
Clarksville Academy (75): Keith Richburg 19, Eddie Ricks 18, Tyler Moss 13, Paris Pridgen 12, Trae Rideau 5, Cam Phillips 3, Jehren Jamison 3, Corbin Yarbrough 2.
Northwest (44): Terrence Bellamy 11, Isaiah Kendrell 10, Scott Batista 5, Scott Albright 4, Damiah Smith 4, Kearius Jones 3, Servontae Williams 2.
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