CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Clarksville Academy boys’ basketball team survived in a win or go home district tournament game with Nashville Christian on Wednesday night. The Cougars emerged victorious at Proctor Court, 50-42.
Early on, Nashville Christian played a slow, controlled offensive game, holding the ball for minutes at a time as they looked to slow down the fast paced and high scoring Cougars.
It worked early on, as the Eagles held Clarksville Academy to only 4 points in the first quarter and built a 19-15 lead going into the half. Clarksville Academy head coach Matt Hoppe said they just had to remain calm and get it right.
“Some of our younger guys haven’t been in battles like this,” Hoppe said. “We did a good job of staying focused and never letting it get too far away from us. We made it a point to get stops, get out in transition. and attack the paint. That’s what we did in the second (half).”
Clarksville Academy’s strategy proved fruitful as the second half was all Cougars. Fueled by Trae Rideau’s 18 points, they would take the lead for the first time in the game with four minutes left in the third quarter, and never relinquish it. The Cougars survived and ended up advancing to the district semi-final game, which is scheduled for Saturday against Friendship Christian.
“We have to have a good day of practice tomorrow first and foremost,” said Hoppe. “We’re playing a really good Friendship Christian team that we battled with less than a week ago at their place. If you can’t get excited for a district semi-final on your home floor, you can’t get up for high school basketball.”
Top Scorers:
Clarksville Academy: Trae Rideau – 18 points; Cam Phillips – 17 points; Tahj Davis – 7 points; Andrayas Scott – 4 points; Deuce Jones – 2 points; Marcell Jackson – 2 Points.