by Malcolm Butler
Boys: Creek 82, Glenbrook 51
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
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Girls: Creek 54, Glenbrook 13
It was a mismatch from the start.
And it continued for all 32 minutes.
The No. 2 ranked Cedar Creek Lady Cougars (19-3, 1-0) jumped out to an early lead and then cruised to a 54-13 win over winless Glenbrook (0-10, 0-1) Friday night in Minden in the District 1-1A opener for both teams.
Sophomore Alivia Lee scored 13 points and junior Taylor Martinez added 11 points as eight different Creek players got into the scoring column in the victory.
The Lady Cougars were playing for the first time in a week and head coach Katie Hall said she was happy with what she saw.
“It was good to play against somebody besides ourselves,” said the second-year Lady Cougars head coach. “We were able to work on some things that we needed to work on to get better tonight.
“Defensively, we wanted to apply more ball pressure, but also stay in the gaps so we aren’t getting beat. Offensively, we wanted to push the ball in transition to be better at that. We were also able to work on some zone offense.”
Martinez got the Lady Cougars started right off the opening tip, draining the first of her three three-pointers on the night as Creek took a 3-0 lead less than 10 seconds into the contest. Lee then scored the first of her game-high 13 points one minute later with a corner three-pointer, one of eight made by Cedar Creek on the night.
When the Lady Cougars weren’t scoring in transition, they were sharing the basketball in their half-court offense, getting open looks much of the night.
“I thought we moved the ball really well tonight,” said Hall. “It’s all them. They are learning to trust each other, and they are learning to pass it around and make defenders move. This group finds joy in sharing the basketball. They talk about it afterwards. They celebrate that. We moved the ball really well tonight, and it was fun to watch.”
Mallory Smith and Avery Ryan hit back-to-back layups during a 40 second stretch and with 5:20 to play in the opening quarter, Cedar Creek led 10-0.
Caroline James drained her only three-pointer of the night with 3:35 to play and then Ryan added two more buckets and Smith another layup as the Lady Cougars led 20-1. Mary Grace Hawkins drilled a corner three-pointer with 5 seconds to play in the opening period to give Creek a 25-4 lead after the first.
Martinez and Lee started the second quarter like the began the game, hitting back-to-back three-pointers. A pair of Zoey Venters free throws followed by a Smith three-pointer upped the Creek advantage to 38-7 with just over a minute to play in the second quarter.
Leading 41-7 at halftime, Lee pulled down an offensive rebound and made the putback 15 seconds into the third quarter to push the lead to 36 points, initiating the running clock for the rest of the contest.
Martinez connected on her third three-pointer with 5 minutes to play in the third and the Lady Cougars held a 49-11 lead entering the final stanza.
Britton Bennett opened the fourth quarter with a corner three-pointer as Cedar Creek recorded the lopsided win to start league action.
“It’s always good to get a win on the road,” said Hall. “No matter who it’s against, but in district especially. It’s nice to start off in the right direction in district play.”
Ryan added nine points and Smith eight for the Lady Cougars.
Creek will host Ringgold Tuesday night at The Brickhouse.
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Cedar Creek Scoring: FG(3)-FT=Total Points
Alivia Lee 5(2)-1=13; Mary Grace Hawkins 1-1=4; Britton Bennett 1(1)-0-3; Caroline James 1(1)-0=3; Mallory Smith 3(1)-1=8; Taylor Martinez 4(3)-0=11; Zoey Venters 1-2=4; Avery Ryan 3-3=9. Totals: 19(8)-8=54
Score by Quarters
Cedar Creek (19-3, 1-0): 25-16-8-5=54
Glenbrook (0-10, 0-1): 4-3-4-2=13
