THE FIRST TIME IS ALWAYS THE SWEETEST: Cougars take down Southwestern in program's first crosstown victory
- Jacob Pratt
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
SOMERSET - The Cougar Den was packed on Friday night for the second game between Somerset Christian and the Southwestern Warriors. The winner of this one would be in the proverbial driver seat for the number one seed in the 48th District Tournament, and you could tell that by the hustle of the players on the court. By the end of the night, the Cougars and their fans would be celebrating their first-ever program victory over the Warriors, taking down their rivals 81-68.
The 'Den' was rocking early on after a quick three-pointer from Jack Baker, although Aiden Webb followed that up with a three of his own to tie the ball game up. Webb went on a 7-0 run by himself as the sophomore was unstoppable during the first few minutes. Isaiah Hensley answered with four points in a row to tie the contest up at 7-7.
A slam dunk by Braley Adderley, followed by a two from Elijah Brummett, flipped the lead back in the home team's favor at 11-10. After an offensive put-back from Antajuan Dumphord, the Cougars were forced to call for a timeout. Straight out of that timeout, however, Baker drilled another three. Nolan Mattingly dropped a shot from long range as well, with a traditional three-point play from Webb tying the game late in the period. Brummett had a two before the horn to give Somerset Christian a 19-17 edge after the first.
Southwestern took the lead following baskets from Dumphord and Webb, before yet another three from Baker flipped the lead right back to the Cougars. The threes began raining down for the home team following more triples from Brummett and Baker as Somerset Christian took their biggest lead of the game so far at 28-21.
Following a traditional three-point play from Hensley, that lead grew to double digits. A massive slam dunk from Adderley, his second of the night, forced Southwestern to call for a timeout to get regrouped for the stretch run in the half. Baker hit his fifth three-point basket of the night and after another basket from Hensley plus one free throw from Gavin Lewis, the Cougars had all the momentum heading into the second half as they were up 43-28.
The Warriors came out focused on the defensive end in the third quarter, and after a three from Zach Hutchinson and another two from Webb, Somerset Christian had to call two timeouts in a row. A three from Jarrett Simpson made the Southwestern portion of the fans in attendance rise to their feet as their Warriors had trimmed their deficit down to eight points.
The lead didn't stay below double digits for long though, after the sixth made shot from long range by Baker and yet another ferocious slam dunk by Adderley. The Cougar Den came unglued at the end of the period as well, with Baker calmly dribbling to right past half court and absolutely drilling his seventh triple of the night to push the home team's lead to 54-37 heading into the final eight minutes.
Adderley had the first basket in the fourth as the Somerset Christian lead was nearly at 20 points. Almost every time the Warriors had a basket early on, the Cougars would answer right back as it began to seem like the Cougar lead was insurmountable at this point. Hutchinson came alive with two straight three-pointers before a technical foul was called on both Brummett and Somerset Christian head coach Al Gover. The Warriors were able to hit two of their four free throws received from the double technical as they trailed 65-52 midway through the quarter.
It became a free throw fest for the home team in the final few minutes of the contest, with Brummett and Hensley both hitting several clutch free throws to maintain their lead. Hutchinson continued his stellar shooting in the period by hitting three more shots from long range, but the junior's hot shooting was still not enough to overcome the Somerset Christian lead as the Cougars were able to prevail 81-68, securing not only their first-ever win over the Warriors but their first crosstown victory in boys' basketball as well. Coach Gover was just happy for his group following the win, but noted there is still some growing to do.
"This win feels great, you get a lot of satisfaction from watching your team play so hard and give it all that they have. We are tickled to be here and we know we still have a lot of work to do, so we will just take it one day at a time," he explained.
Brummett led the way for the Cougars with a game-high 27 points. Other scorers included Baker with 21, Hensley with 18, Adderley with nine and both Lewis and Mattingly with three apiece. Somerset Christian improves to 14-8 and 3-2 in district play and will travel to Jackson City on Saturday to take on the Tigers.
Hutchinson led the way for the Warriors with 20 points. Other scorers included Webb with 17, Simpson with 16, Dumphord with 10, Wyatt Stevenson with three and Kaden Campbell with two. Southwestern falls to 8-10 and 3-2 in district play and are in the midst of a six-game losing streak. The Warriors will look to snap that skid on Saturday as they travel to Cumberland County to take on the Panthers.
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