Legacy Charter defeated Cooper 63-40 Sunday afternoon in the Griffin Elite Showcase, but the Jaguars never backed down in the face of adversity.
The Lions boast multiple 6-foot-9 interior players while also having multiple 6-foot-5 wing players. Despite their size advantage, Cooper battled and made Legacy earn every basket.
“I thought every single guy in our program today competed at the highest level,” said Cooper Head Coach Tim Sullivan. “The entire game they just continued to compete no matter the score. Whether we were up down or close whatever. They just continued to compete.”
After falling behind 7-0 early, it looked as if the Lions might run away with the game. Cooper, behind guard Yamil Rondon, began to find their footing. Rondon, who scored 10 points Sunday and is averaging 11.4 on the season, drained a mid-range jumper late in the first quarter to give Cooper the lead at 10-9.
“Our coach had one thing he wanted us to do when we came out here and that was compete,” said Rondon. “I thought we competed well tonight.”
Early in the second quarter, Rondon picked up his third foul of the game. Without their main ball-handler and offensive initiator, the Jaguars struggled offensively. Legacy cut off passing lanes and made Cooper’s offense work almost exclusively off the dribble. With Rondon sidelined with fouls and leading scorer Andy Johnson injured, the Jaguars began to fall behind.
After only trailing by five going into the second quarter, the Lions lead climbed to 13 by the half and with Rondon picking up his fourth early in the third quarter Legacy went up by 20. Jaguar guards Evan Blackburn and Jaidan Combs fought back leading a run to cut the lead to 14, but the Legacy size was just too much as the Jaguars couldn’t claw their way back, eventually falling 63-40.
“When you a play a physical team like that you got to figure out how to play through it,” said Sullivan. “We’ve got to do a better job of getting them in positions where they can excel.”
Legacy plays in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Scholastic, which is the premier high school prep basketball league in the country. Their team is filled with elite level talent including 6-foot-7 forward T.J. Copeland, who boasts offers from Texas A&M and Seton Hall, and 6-foot-5 wing Travelle Bryson, who scored 19 Sunday including three 3-pointers.
But Cooper’s physicality defensively tested the Lions. For stretches of this game Cooper strung together multiple stops behind defensive specialist Austin Alexander. However, it takes the whole “family” as Coach Sullivan describes his team to put together stops.
“We sat down and guarded really well as a whole today. Obviously it’s a little different when you got 6-9, 6-10 kids rolling to the rim,” said Sullivan. “But, overall, the fact that we’re given up a lot of inches and a lot of pounds, you wouldn’t know that at times.”
Now, yes, Cooper did lose this game, and yes the score shows it wasn’t particularly close, but sometimes losses teach teams more than wins. Is this looking too much on the bright side of the situation or is this a loss that motivates this team to new heights? Only time will tell.
Case and point? This is a lesson learned for Coach Sullivan and his young ball club early on in this season.
“In order to get where we want to go, we have to play games like this and we have to learn lessons like this,” said Sullivan. “Playing against national teams that have three four or five-star guys you’re going to take some lumps, but every single day it’s a part of a process of trying to get where we’re trying to go.”
This is a similar message Coach Sullivan preached to his team last season as they maneuvered their way through a rigorous schedule. On Feb 14, 2023, following an overtime loss to Dixie, the Jaguars sat at 13-12. They would rattle off five straight victories hoisting another 33rd district trophy before falling narrowly 44-42 in the 9th region championship. This team has similar beginnings, plagued by injuries and a rough schedule.
“You won’t recognize this team in January, February, March because of the fact that we’re growing up,” said Sullivan. “Our guys are going through the fire and growing up every day.”
Cooper’s record drops to 4-3 and they will look to bounce back Wednesday against Oldham County at 4:30 p.m. in the Scott Winter Classic.
Lions 63, Jaguars 40
Cooper -12-5-13-10 – 40
Legacy Charter – 17-13-15-18 – 63
Scoring
Cooper (40) – Combs 12, Rondon 10, Chris Rodriguez 7, Isaiah Johnson 4, Isaac Brown 2, Tanner Murphy 2, Blackburn 1, Alexander 2
Legacy Charter (63) – Bryson 19, Kyelin King 12, Cole Hansen 10, Copeland 7, Destin Christian 7, Gabe Grant 4, Adrian Schakelton 4
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Cooper 2, Legacy 5
Free Throws: Cooper 8/13, Legacy 11/14
Fouls: Cooper 16, Legacy 16
Records: Cooper (4-3), Legacy Charter (9-5)