Final.

 

Collins 19, Maniacci 13, Holland 10, McNeil 7, Hawthorne 6, Morgan 4

 

Campbell 19, Pouncy 10, Tiberi 8, C McClendon 6, Gabbard 3, Knochleman 2

 

Cooper was down 27-18 and went on 18-2 run. Only gave up 6 points in third qtr. Will have story up later.

Final.

 

Collins 19, Maniacci 13, Holland 10, McNeil 7, Hawthorne 6, Morgan 4

 

Campbell 19, Pouncy 10, Tiberi 8, C McClendon 6, Gabbard 3, Knochleman 2

 

Cooper was down 27-18 and went on 18-2 run. Only gave up 6 points in third qtr. Will have story up later.

 

WOW!!

From the looks of your updates it was getting a little "chippy"?

From the looks of your updates it was getting a little "chippy"?

 

Not so much "chippy", more of Pouncy being physical and trying to get a reaction from McNeil. When McNeil didn't respond, he (Pouncy) gave him a shove with his forearm which caused the teams to have to be separated....similar incident to Newcath Holy Cross in football with Pouncy........

Where was Shelton? He had a nice game against NCC

Where was Shelton? He had a nice game against NCC

 

Shelton played...Campbell was just too tough a match up for him at both ends. Working on game story/recap now.

Shelton played...Campbell was just too tough a match up for him at both ends. Working on game story/recap now.

Thanks! I look forward to game report. I thought I saw where he did not start so I thought maybe he was injured.

Here is my report/recap of tonight's game. Will post the link from nkysports, where it is also available, tomorrow.

 

Cooper 59 Holy Cross 48

Collins' clutch shooting leads Jags

 

One week ago, senior AJ Collins was playing in the 5A football state championship game. Friday night, he was leading his team to a win on the hardwood, as Cooper used an impressive defensive performance and aa 19 point showing from Collins to knock off Holy Cross 59-48 at Cooper High School.

 

“ I was surprised how well AJ shot the ball tonight.” Said Cooper head coach Tim Sullivan. “I just told him welcome back.”

 

After not playing in Cooper’s first two games and yesterday being just the first practice for Collins, it was indeed a coming out party to start off his senior campaign. Early on, though, it looked like Cooper would be in trouble as they struggled from the field and had to deal with hot shooting from the Indians.

 

Before the game even started, there were a few surprises as 6’8 Ohio commit, Tony Campbell and freshman Mikekale McClendon didn’t start for Holy Cross. Without those two on the floor, it left an opening for others to step up

 

After jumping out to a 5-2 lead behind a Spencer Holland trey, Holy Cross would go on a 6-0 run behind a Blake Tiberi and Burt Pouncy three to take an 8-5 lead. This would be just the start of runs for both teams, however, as they traded three pointers on the next two possessions. Holland then hit his second three of the quarter to give him 6 points early on and tie the game at the 4 minute mark of the quarter. Holland would finish with 10 points.

 

“ I just came out and starting firing pretty much.” Said Holland, on his early hot shooting. “ I’ve been preparing for this since freshman year. Coach always tell us ‘Next man up’ and it was just my turn to be ‘Next man up.”

 

Tiberi responded once again with a three to give the Indians the lead right back at 11-8 at the 2:11 mark. A free throw by Zach McNeil and runner in the lane by sophomore Colin Hathorn would tie the game once again at 11.

 

Enter Tony Campbell, who finished the game with 19 points.

 

Just minutes in to the game after sitting on the bench, Campbell got his scoring going with an and one down low that resulted in a free throw and also the first foul on Cooper big man Lou Maniacci.

 

After coming off the bench, junior Aaron Morgan (also a football star) scored on a layup to make it 14-13 Holy Cross at the end of one quarter.

 

The second quarter would be a different story, though, as Holy Cross continued their hot shooting with a 13-5 run and Cooper struggled with consistency.

 

Senior Burt Pouncy got the scoring going for the Indians as he drained a three to give the Indians a 17-13 lead. Campbell then got a tip in to extend the lead to 5 but AJ Collins nailed a three to keep his team close at 19-16. This would be just the beginning for Collins, who also came off the bench.

 

With Holy Cross leading 27-18 after a Campbell lay up and Tiberi jumper in transition, Collins would start a personal 6-0 run. As time was winding down, Holy Cross turned the ball over with 2 seconds left in the half and a 27-20 lead. This proved costly for the Indians as Collins took the inbounds pass and hit a three from the top of the key at the buzzer to make it a 4 point game, 27-23, at the half and more importantly, start an eventual 18-2 run for the Jags.

 

“ I just got back to practice yesterday and it was a little hard getting up and down the court." Said Collins. “Coach told me to just do my thing and shoot it. It was a big momentum shifter at the half. Everybody was excited and we came out ready to go defensively in the third quarter.”

 

The third quarter started with an AJ Collins trey to make it a one point game at 27-26. After a Campbell and one that sent Maniacci to the bench with his third foul, Spencer Holland hit a three, Colin Hathorn added a free throw jumper, Collins hit two free throws, and it was 36-31 Cooper with 2:23 left in the third quarter.

 

Christian McClendon responded with a nice move to make it 36-33 but a Hathorn bucket over Campbell and Holy Cross turnover with 2.4 seconds left would once again leave the door wide open for Collins to make a big play. After driving down the near side of the court and getting to the baseline, Collins threw up a floater while falling out of bounds that would go in at the buzzer to send the Jags in to the 4th quarter up 7 at 40-33.

 

“ I was just trying to get a shot up and it went in.” Said Collins.

 

Coach Sullivan was very pleased with the defensive effort of his team in the third quarter, giving up just 6 points.

 

“ At the half all we talked about was defensively, getting stops. Holy Cross does a great job spreading you out with their zone. On defense we’ve got to get stops and rebound. Defensively, we locked them down in the third quarter.”

 

The most impressive part of the third quarter was the fact that Cooper did it with their big man, Maniacci,, sitting on the bench much of the time with three fouls.

 

“ Our biggest thing that’s going to propel us this year is our depth.” Said Sullivan “ Our guys are unselfish and don’t care who gets the spotlight. We’ve got 9 or 10 guys we can put out there and not drop off much.”

 

The fourth quarter was all about Louis Manniacci as he would score 9 points and also provide several big defensive plays to keep the Indians from making any sort of comeback.

 

The biggest series of them all came at the 4:01 mark when Maniacci got an and one to extend the Cooper lead to 10 at 47-37, then after a Travis Gabbard bank three, scored over Tony Campbell once again to push the lead back to 9 and essentially stop any momentum Holy Cross had.

 

The Jags would get several more easy baskets and seal the deal at the free throw line. When the buzzer sounded, the Jags walked off the floor with a 59-48 win, improving their record to 2-1.

 

Despite the win, Tim Sullivan still felt there was room for improvement.

 

“ Chemistry and learning where to be and when to be there is the biggest thing for us right now. Our offense will get better and we know that. Everybody understands their roles. Now we put things in the rear view mirror and try to get better day by day.”

 

Expectations are still high though and Coach Sullivan knows that his team has the opportunity to be very good if they can continue to play defense the way they did tonight in the third quarter.

 

“ Our goal is to untimately win a 9th region championship but to do that we have to win the 33rd district if we want to go and try to play on the floor at Rupp Arena. The days of being little Cooper and sneaking up on people are over. People know who you are now. The bar has been set and it’s going to be neat to see how our guys respond to that.”

 

The Jags will be in action again Monday night in a big 33rd district seeding game against rival Cnoner, at home. They will then travel to Campbell County the next night.

 

Holy Cross falls to 0-2 and will look to get their first win of the young season Saturday night at home against Lloyd, before traveling to Scott in a Kenton County rivalry game Tuesday night.

 

Scoring:

 

Cooper (2-1): Collins 19, Maniacci 13, Holland 10, McNeil 7, Hathorn 6, Morgan 4

 

Holy Cross (0-2): Campbell 19, Pouncy 10, Tiberi 8, C. McClendon 6, Gabbard 3, Knochleman 2

Edited December 8, 201213 yr by Walter

Thanks! I look forward to game report. I thought I saw where he did not start so I thought maybe he was injured.

 

Campbell didn't start. Came in around the 4 min mark of the 1st quarter. Not sure why though. He, along with M. McClendon, started the 2nd half.

Great recap Walter !!!!

Cooper will be a good team when the gridiron boys are full strength. I like to see the Holland boy stepping up. Nice underrated player.

Here are a few of my personal notes/thoughts from the game:

 

1. Spencer Holland is extremely underrated. Kid flat out does it all and has a tremendous work ethic. Sully was telling me after the game that he just started playing basketball as a freshman and originally played hockey. He shoots it very well from outside and also handles the ball well. He looked good handling the pg duties before Morgan came in and he slid over to the 2.

 

2. Zach McNeil is going to be a great asset for Cooper this year...not because of his offense, but his defene. Zach has been a scorer all his life but has accepted the role as a defensive guy playing with the type of talent he has around him. He held McClendon in check tonight. McNeil is also automatic from the free throw line. Kid doesn't miss and rarely does it even touch the rim.

 

3. Big Lou had a rough three quarters but stepped up in the 4th when it mattered the most. He went from playing timid to going right at Campbell (and scoring), making hustle plays on defense (chasing down easy lay ups and erasing them with blocks from behind....one he pinned against the backboard. HUGE PLAY), and also knocking down free throws. 9 of his teams 19 points in the final period.

 

4. Aaron Morgan...love the way he plays the game and attacks the rim. Very tough with the ball and simply doesn't make mistakes. He looked good tonight for yesterday being just his first practice.

 

5. AJ Collins was outstanding tonight. Showed a nice stroke from outside and the two shots at the buzzer were clutch. Big momentum shifters to help his team get the W. What really surprised me though was how well he got to the rim and finished in traffic. Very quick first step allowed him to blow by his defender. Simply put, AJ is a gamer.

 

6. Tony Campbell absolutely dominated tonight at both ends. Don't have final rebounding numbers but I'd be surprised if he didn't have a double double. Didn't block many shots but without his rebounding, HC easily loses this game by 20. Simply didn't have anyone else that could rebound and protect the rim the way he did. He forced several bad shots around the rim, even though he didn't get the block or have to leave his feet. Was very good at playing straight up and down.

 

7. I continue to be impressed with Blake Tiberi. He showed a nice stroke from outside and was rebounding with the big guys. Also played good defense on McNeil when they were matched up. All around solid game.

 

Both teams will improve but I think Cooper's depth will separate them from a lot of teams around the region. Easily one of the top 3 teams in the region and could be #1. Looking forward to their game against Holmes in about a month and hopefully a rematch against Newcath in the region tourney. Also, Coach Sully is a hell of an interview. Great seeing and talking to him tonight. He continues to build a premier program in the 9th region with his philosophies.

Great recap Walter !!!!

 

Thanks, Q.

 

Looking forward to doing alteast one of these a week and covering the different teams around nky before we (nkysports) start our broadcast schedule at the Lloyd Invitational.

Congrats to Cooper on the win.

 

Walter---enjoyed reading both the player and game summaries. :thumb:

Forgot to mention Hathorn from Cooper. He's going to be a good one. All around solid game. Rebounds, good shot out to about 12 feet, and plays good post defense.

 

The back up pg for Cooper, Turner, is another one that is going to contribute throughout the season. Very good ball handling skills.