by Malcolm Butler
Head coach Lance Waldron saw his Cougars get off to a 1-0 start in District 1-1A action with a 82-51 victory over Glenbrook Friday night in Minden.
The second year Cougars head coach was happy with the W.
However, Waldron knows his Cougars will have to play with more consistency in the coming weeks with league games against Lincoln Prep, Ringgold and Arcadia on the horizon.
Cannon Robbins scored 26 points and Jake Terry added 25 points as the Cougars (10-4, 1-0) were never really threatened in Friday night’s victory over Glenbrook (2-10, 0-1).
“The guys did good offensively,” said Waldron. “I felt we got caught up in the game a little bit, and didn’t stick to our fundamentals on defense. I was a little disappointed in that, but it’s hard to do in a game like this.
“Glenbrook is rebuilding. They have a ways to go. Their coach is doing a good job with them, but they are just young.”
Glenbrook led 4-3 two minutes into the contest before the Cougars used a 10-0 run over the next 90 seconds spearheaded by a Terry three-pointer and a Robbins break-away dunk. Robbins added a conventional three-point play with 4:44 to go in the opening quarter to extend the Cougars lead to 13-4.
Terry and Robbins continued their opening-quarter onslaught, combining for 15 more points over the final four minutes of the quarter as the Cougars led 30-13 at the end of the first quarter.
The duo would score 12 of Creek’s first 14 points of the second quarter before a Landon Hall step-back three-pointer with 2:55 remaining before the half increased the Cougars lead to 47-20. Creek led 53-22 at the half.
Creek didn’t come out of the lockerroom with the same defensive intensity in which it played in the opening two quarters as the Apache got some open looks and some easier opportunities on their offensive end of the floor.
“These types of games are difficult sometimes,” said Waldron. “It’s always a mental obstacle you have to overcome. We talked about that this week. We didn’t want to play down to our competition. I thought we did a descent job, but I would have liked for us to lock in more on defense and not get caught up in the (score) of the game.”
Jack Bell netted all six of his points in the third quarter, including one of the Cougars 10 three-pointers on the night.
A Robbins three-pointer with 2:15 to play in the third quarter gave the Cougars a 69-34 lead, initiating the mandatory running clock which is an LHSAA rule once a team is leading by 35 points.
Waldron was able to empty his bench in the fourth quarter and a number of young Cougars put their name in the scoring column, including five points from Luke Alexander and a three-pointer by Micah Taylor.
Hall added seven points for the Cougars in the win.
Waldron said he was happy to start district play with the win, but knew his team would face a taller task Tuesday when they host Ringgold.
“We have already shifted gears on that one,” said Waldron about Tuesday’s opponent. “We are looking forward to it. They were in the Top 28 last year. They have played a really tough schedule. It’s tougher than what we have played.
“Their record isn’t as good as ours, but it is understandable because of the quality of their schedule. They have a couple of really, really good players back from last year’s team that was so good.”
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Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points
Cameron Temple 2-0=4; Cannon Robbins 9(3)-5=26; Brett Bell 1-0=2; Micah Taylor 1(1)-0=3; Luke Waldron 2-0=4; Luke Alexander 2(1)-0=5; Landon Hall 3(1)-0=7; Jack Bell 2(1)-1=6; Jake Terry 8(3)-6=25. Totals: 30(10)-12=82.
Score by Quarters
Cedar Creek (10-4, 1-0): 30-23-17-12=82
Glenbrook (2-10, 0-1): 13-9-14-15=51
