Big win for the Jags tonight. Let's hope they wake up by Friday and start playing like their fans are used to. Go Jags

 

Welcome Enrico, it's nice to have another Cooper supporter. Maybe you can meet some of us Cooper fans for a drink after a game sometime. Rookie's buy though!!

How was the crowd?

 

Cooper side was packed, Conner side maybe half at best.

Great game to watch tonight. The Cougars had em' on the ropes, that's for sure. If not for a very lucky 3 by Collins, Conner is moving on. It was his first FG of the night and he double clutched it from deep. Personally, I would have fouled the kid as soon as he caught it with a three point lead and taken my chances fromt there. Conner was making all of their FT's. Some very questionable calls down the stretch in this one from the female ref. No...I'm not saying the officials screwed anybody. Conner had a great game plan and their energy level was on a plane I have not seen all year. Their intensity on defense had everything to do with Cooper having a "bad" shooting night. They were helping, hedging and switching like nobody's business. With no shot clock, I thought Conner helped Cooper back into the game with some quick low percentage shots. Should of just been more patient on offense and forced Cooper to overplay (backdoors) or foul. Kudos to the Conner guards on D, they took McNeil and Collins out of the game and they were mostly non-factors. Guess we can look forward to the football game in the fall.

 

AJ has made clutch shots and FT's for the last 5 years that I've watched him play, so when you say "luck", I say he's "clutch". He didn't double pump in the air, he shot faked and leaned to the right and shot (at least it looked that way from my angle). Congrats to Barker for stepping up and making clutch FT's.

 

If Cooper would have opened the game in a full court, all out press, I think this game would have went the way of the other two. They came out tight and a little nervous as it looked like they were playing "not to lose" versus attacking and imposing their superior will. Just my opinion.

 

This is the 3rd year in a row you bring up football this early. For once, I may agree Conner will have the better team, let's see how it plays out.

I love the rivalry these two schools have built up over the past few years. Football game should be fun this fall.

Cooper gutted out the "W" which is all that matters so congrats to them and for Conner's effort.

 

I just am not sold on Cooper as a serious Regional contender (to win it) based on recent play. 4-1 with some unimpressive wins by small margins. (Win vs. Boone 51-45, Lose to Newport 48-45, Win over Dixie 51-45, beat Scott 62-48 and beat Conner 72-68 2OT). I see them in 3rd or 4th position yet clearly behind NCC and Holmes. You can argue that's their style of play and I get that, but it seems to leave lesser teams hanging around.

Cooper gutted out the "W" which is all that matters so congrats to them and for Conner's effort.

 

I just am not sold on Cooper as a serious Regional contender (to win it) based on recent play. 4-1 with some unimpressive wins by small margins. (Win vs. Boone 51-45, Lose to Newport 48-45, Win over Dixie 51-45, beat Scott 62-48 and beat Conner 72-68 2OT). I see them in 3rd or 4th position yet clearly behind NCC and Holmes. You can argue that's their style of play and I get that, but it seems to leave lesser teams hanging around.

 

No one is claiming Cooper will be marching to Rupp without a doubt. What they have said all year is this team has the ability to win on any given night and that includes Holmes and NCC. They haven't beaten them this year but they have played both teams tough and both times not 100% healthy.

 

I'd put it this way, Holmes and NCC would rather face someone else more than Cooper fearing any of those two teams. Cooper is not expected to win so they can go into the game against Holmes or NCC with nothing to lose. NCC or Holmes on the other hand knows Cooper isn't a pushover and with the number of times I have seen Holmes at Cooper's games scouting (after they played eachother) tells me they aren't taking Cooper as lightly as you seem to be.

Yes, as I stated Cooper is 3rd or 4th in region IMO so no, obviously NCC nor Holmes would want to face the 3rd ranked team if given the choice (vs. others in region). At this point in the season no one is taking anyone lightly. (at least not after last night)

 

I don't think I am "taking them lightly" but I'll leave it that I just think Cooper is not as close to the top as the other two and is more susceptible to getting beat early in the region based on recent game performances.

Yes, as I stated Cooper is 3rd or 4th in region IMO so no, obviously NCC nor Holmes would want to face the 3rd ranked team if given the choice (vs. others in region). At this point in the season no one is taking anyone lightly. (at least not after last night)

 

I don't think I am "taking them lightly" but I'll leave it that I just think Cooper is not as close to the top as the other two and is more susceptible to getting beat early in the region based on recent game performances.

 

Cooper has flat out laid an egg in two games this year, Clinton Co and Newport. Those games were were not typical of their normal play. You mention the Dixie game only winning by 6 when they were clearly up by double digits nearly the entire game and Hatton hit a 3 at the end of the game as the clock expired to "only" win by 6.

 

They lost to NCC by 2 without 2 starters and was up on Holmes by 5 in the 4th qtr with injured and sick players (just like Holmes) only to lose by 6 so it's proven they can compete. The Jags sometimes (well mostly) win ugly and no doubt should have lost last nite but all you can ask of your players is to "find a way" to win which is what they did. When ur down by 11 with 3 mins to go and down by 5 with :45 ur supposed to lose but Sully kept coaching and the players kept playin'.

 

One thing is true, while Cooper may be a distant 3rd in NKY behind two great teams in NCC and Holmes, nobody and I do mean nobody in this region will be looking forward to playing them. Probably the reason NCCs head coach was at the game last nite scouting.

Yes, as I stated Cooper is 3rd or 4th in region IMO so no, obviously NCC nor Holmes would want to face the 3rd ranked team if given the choice (vs. others in region). At this point in the season no one is taking anyone lightly. (at least not after last night)

 

I don't think I am "taking them lightly" but I'll leave it that I just think Cooper is not as close to the top as the other two and is more susceptible to getting beat early in the region based on recent game performances.

 

Cooper has flat out laid an egg in two games this year, Clinton Co and Newport. Those games were were not typical of their normal play. You mention the Dixie game only winning by 6 when they were clearly up by double digits nearly the entire game and Hatton hit a 3 at the end of the game as the clock expired to "only" win by 6.

 

They lost to NCC by 2 without 2 starters and was up on Holmes by 5 in the 4th qtr with injured and sick players (just like Holmes) only to lose by 6 so it's proven they can compete. The Jags sometimes (well mostly) win ugly and no doubt should have lost last nite but all you can ask of your players is to "find a way" to win which is what they did. When ur down by 11 with 3 mins to go and down by 5 with :45 ur supposed to lose but Sully kept coaching and the players kept playin'.

 

One thing is true, while Cooper may be a distant 3rd in NKY behind two great teams in NCC and Holmes, nobody and I do mean nobody in this region will be looking forward to playing them. Probably the reason NCCs head coach was at the game last nite scouting.

11 pt lead with 3 minutes left? That hurts even more.

I would dispute some of the observations that Cooper came out flat. As mentioned by many, Coach Sully is a very good coach and known for motivating his players. As such, I seriously doubt they took this game lightly and were not ready to play. Rather, let's give the Conner kids credit for taking this game personally and executing a well-conceived game plan by Coach Hicks to a tee for 3.5 quarters.

 

Some of the perception is that Conner blew the lead by taking ill-advised shots late in the game while sitting on the lead. I can only recall one "bad" shot that was a 3 pter from the wing. The bigger issue was consecutive turnovers and 2 offensive fouls called in the final 3 minutes. Also, Conner shot 25-28 from the line so they showed some courage and fight. At the end of the day congrats to Cooper for finding a way to win. And the shot by Collins was from about 25 feet, while double-pumping, fading towards the bench, with a long Hemmerich all over him. Incredible.

 

My heart goes out to the Conner kids who showed a tremendous amount of passion. This one will no doubt hurt a long long time.

11 pt lead with 3 minutes left? That hurts even more.

 

Conner took some questionable shots for sure. Barker had an air ball from 3 point range and another player tool a rushed shot deep in the corner that had no shot.

If Conner would have run clock and made Cooper foul, the Jags would be finished for the season.

At the 3 min mark the lead was more in the 5 pt range. There wasn't a big run for Cooper. They were down 9 heading into the 4qtr and seemed to gain a point a minute. The biggest Conmer lead was 13 in the 3rd qtr.

I would dispute some of the observations that Cooper came out flat. As mentioned by many, Coach Sully is a very good coach and known for motivating his players. As such, I seriously doubt they took this game lightly and were not ready to play. Rather, let's give the Conner kids credit for taking this game personally and executing a well-conceived game plan by Coach Hicks to a tee for 3.5 quarters.

 

Some of the perception is that Conner blew the lead by taking ill-advised shots late in the game while sitting on the lead. I can only recall one "bad" shot that was a 3 pter from the wing. The bigger issue was consecutive turnovers and 2 offensive fouls called in the final 3 minutes. Also, Conner shot 25-28 from the line so they showed some courage and fight. At the end of the day congrats to Cooper for finding a way to win. And the shot by Collins was from about 25 feet, while double-pumping, fading towards the bench, with a long Hemmerich all over him. Incredible.

 

My heart goes out to the Conner kids who showed a tremendous amount of passion. This one will no doubt hurt a long long time.

Sorry to disagree, but Cooper came out flat and couldn't buy a shot. You can say it was a great Conner defense that kept them from scoring but that wasn't the case at the beginning of the game. Cooper's first shot was an open shot by Zach McNeil who was fouled when driving to the basket. He got 2 free throws.....Conner's defense had nothing to do with what he did at the line, he had no hand in his face as he took those 2 shots, and what did he do? One of the best scorers on Cooper's team bricked both free throws. He then went on and got fouled again a little later and made 1 of 2 to start the game 1-4 at the charity stripe. that has nothing at all to do with Conner's defense, it has to do with a very bad shooting night for all the Cooper players except for Spencer Holland.

 

Cooper was getting a lot of open looks, they simply couldn't hit on them (except Holland) they missed a ton of easy shots under the basket too and AJ couldn't hit the side of a barn through the entire game until the last 8 seconds of regulation. You will never convince me that it was the defense that made Cooper start the game slow like that, when you are at the line shooting at the beginning of the game and can't hit a free throw that is just being cold as ice. Cooper's poor shooting went on the entire game and Spencer Holland was the only one with a hot hand the entire game and is the one who kept Cooper in it enough to close the gap. Also someone said Conner never had a double digit lead in the 4th, i have to disagree with that also because I remember with 5-6 mins left they were up on Cooper by double digits and didn't think the Jags could come back from that with little time left.

 

Conner played great and their FG % had to be way up there, they played great offensively the entire game. as I said earlier my quesiton to Coach Hicks is why didn't he use his bench more to give his guys a breather in the OT's? You could tell by the 2nd OT Conners legs were tired while Cooper still looked fresh and ready to go. I think that was a mistake, when players get tired they tend to make mistakes they didn't make up to that point and that is what happened in the 2nd OT, a lot of mistakes and turnovers. I remember one turnover right after another turnover where Conner made a pass that sailed out of bounds, the player in the area couldn't even make a move to the ball he was so tired and the ball sailed out of bounds. It was a poor pass but the lack of effort going after the pass also showed fatigue on the players.

 

Either way it was a great game to watch. The comeback was inspiring.