CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville Academy boys basketball faced a tough task Thursday at home when they welcomed in Donelson Christian Academy for a district contest.
Despite missing standout guard Eddie Ricks due to a right foot injury, the Cougars took the Wildcats down to the final buzzer.
After DCA’s Ben Singer failed to connect on a pair of free throws, the Cougars tracked down the loose ball and heaved a last-second half-court shot that eventually fell a few feet short of the goal.
According to Clarksville Academy boys basketball coach Tyler Hickman, the 56-55 loss can be chalked up to his team’s lack of rebounding and poor shooting from the charity stripe.
“The glass and free throws,” Hickman said. “We missed a lot of free throws and gave up a ton of offensive rebounds. That’s something we have to be much better in. That’s part of it and we’ll learn and grow from it.”
Lots of whistles
The officials were quick with the whistle for a majority of the night, making it tough for either team to find a rhythm throughout.
Clarksville Academy guard Paris Pridgen was forced to sit out most of the game once finding himself in foul trouble early on. The junior’s presence was greatly missed especially on the offensive end of the floor after he scored eight first-half points to help the Cougars build an early 19-10 lead.
“You hate to blame officials,” Hickman said. “Basketball is a hard game to ref and we know that. You just wish they let the boys play a little bit. That’s part of it though. You just have to keep playing and I’m happy that we fought.”
Key players
Wildcat bigman Blake Anderson was a menace on the glass and in the scoring column, leading DCA with a team-high 21 points. Singer also finished in double figures with 18 points.
Pridgen led CA with 12 points followed by Tyler Moss with 11 points and Corn Stevens with 10 points.
The Cougars put together back-to-back decisive wins before falling to the Wildcats. Despite the end result of Thursday’s game, Hickman believes facing an uptick in competition bodes well for his group at this time of the year.
“I think we learned a little bit about our fight and toughness tonight,” Hickman said. “Our bench guys stepped up and that’s a big thing for us. We need our bench to keep producing moving forward.”
Clarksville Academy will look to rebound in short order when they take on Goodpasture Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m.
“I want to see us compete,” Hickman said. “They’re obviously very talented we know that and we’re obviously shorthanded we know that. At the end of the day, it’s another chance for us to get better. We have to take care of the basketball and hit the glass. They’re the most offensively talented team in our district right now, so we have to be prepared.”