It may have been snowing this weekend, but it was raining points today in Fairfield!

In their return from the snow day break, the Cougars traveled east to face the FCDS Skyhawks for their annual showdown. From the start, it was all Cougars. The first quarter was a thing of perfection, as the Cougars played vicious D, crashed the boards, and ran a seamless pick and roll offense that gave the Skyhawks nightmares all game. 16-0 after the first whistle.

 

But the Cougars didn’t let up from there on offense. The boys set great screens, made excellent passes, and finished their looks in the paint consistently. As FCDS kept trying to jump the passing lanes for easy steals and left their feet for block attempts, the Cougars made them pay with pump fakes and extra passes. The ball movement was exquisite, as the boys regularly generated wide open looks in both the paint and beyond the arc. The first unit was fueled by the triangular synergy formed by G Griff Overbay (8 points and 4 assists), C Colin Buda (12 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists), and G/F Graeson Smith (12 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists). Add in the aggressive defense from F Charlie Smith and a couple first half buckets from G Dezy Springer on the fast break, and this crew was a forced to be reckoned with. 

 

But the second and third units brought the heat too. PG Lucan Glennan and C Chase Bell kept the offense humming during their shifts. Chase set terrific screens, and Lucan kept his eyes up and fed the big man with excellent passes to the middle of the paint. Chase scored a career-high eight points today, six of which we directly assisted by Lucan, who assisted four total. Mateo Moha also added his signature to this group, going splash down from three during the second quarter.

FCDS didn't want to go away, however. #13 was big and fast and a solid finisher in the paint. During the second quarter, he erupted for a barrage of points (he scored 21 on the day) to keep the Skyhawks close going into halftime. But that wasn't enough. The Cougars played exaggerated help defense in the second half to force the ball out of his hands and get him to settle for jump shots, which worked well to our advantage. In particular, F Evan Frey and F Townsend LeConey did well to play physical, slide their feet, and wear their star player down. By the fourth quarter, he was gassed, but the Cougars were not (next time I make you run sprints... remember that this is why) and they hit the gas pedal, taking a lead that had been 16 for most of the game and finishing it out with a 26 point win. 55-29 final.

13 assists as a team fellas... that is what I am talking about! Great work today, guys. Next week, we travel to King for our first rematch of the year. 3:30 on Tuesday. Can't wait!