The mentality the Cooper boys basketball team takes on is 1-0 that day and build for the next day.
With the noise going on outside about the program and the status of coach Tim Sullivan’s tenure for the future certainly didn’t go quiet leading into the Jaguars St. Elizabeth Healthcare 9th Region quarterfinal against Highlands, the Jaguars were able to block out the noise with a 58-45 victory.
The win gets them to Tuesday’s semifinals to face Covington Catholic for a third straight year. As the Jaguars ran off the floor after the contest, the Cooper faithful led a chorus of “Sully!” chants. Some even had “Free Sully” shirts and hoodies.
“I’m just very overwhelmed with all the love and support,” Sullivan said. “My mom who brought me up to be this way and to try to love everybody and let positivity just ooze from you. For her to get to see that and and for my family to get to see that and hear dad’s name with T-shirts, it’s very special.”
Sullivan was the center of a petition posted by many on social media channels this past week, wind getting out of a reported decision to not retain him as head coach after season’s end. Sullivan was reportedly told of the decision in late January. The petition is in support of Sullivan to stay on as head coach and has been signed by nearly 3,000 people since it came out earlier this week. Sullivan has been the coach of the Jaguars program since day one when it started up with the school in 2008.
“We can’t let that get in the way for what we’re trying to do. I’m so proud of these guys for standing up and doing what they want to do,” Sullivan said. “They wanted to wear the T-shirts pregame and they want to do this, and they want to do that for me because we trust each other. We want these kids to grow up and become men and stand up for what they believe in and these guys believe in me. It’s very special. If I keep going, I’ll get choked up because it’s so emotional. We are a family and we’re trying to enjoy every single moment together.”
On the court, it was a staple of what the Jaguars are. Stingy defense, a couple of complementary pieces to star senior Andy Johnson and physicality that’s tough to match, especially for a young Bluebirds team that doesn’t have a senior on the roster.
“Their senior experience showed,” Bluebirds coach Kevin Listerman said. “We made a couple of runs at them. Just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Taking a 15-12 lead after a Johnson jumper in the early stages of the second quarter, Highlands answered in transition with a Charlie Messmer triple to tie things up.
Sullivan called a timeout, not too pleased.
“Nothing really had to be said,” Jaguars senior Isaac Brown said. “It was gut check time. I mean this time of season it’s win or go home. We all kind of knew we got to kick it in. We all knew that we had to go from that point.”
The Jaguars responded to the timeout to the tune of a 20-6 run to end the half and a 35-21 lead at the break.
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Highlands was able to hang around in the third and get the deficit to six by locking in defensively. A Nathan Rickard layup got it to 39-33 with a minute left in the quarter, holding the Jaguars to four points in the frame to that point.
But Cooper responded with a 7-0 run from that point into the fourth, effectively closing the door on the quarterfinal contest.
Brown led the Jaguars with 22 points, hitting 7-of-12 shots from the field. Johnson added 17 to go with seven rebounds, Jaidan Combs tossing in 10 points with four rebounds and three assists.
The biggest difference in the game was at the free throw line. Cooper went 17-of-21 from the charity stripe, Highlands getting to the line just four times, going 1-of-4.
“Statistically the difference was at the free throw line,” Listerman said. “They shoot 21 free throws and we shot six. That’s the point differential. I thought defensively we did a lot of things we were trying to do. Brown had a big night and he was the key tonight.”
Rickard led Highlands with 13 points and seven rebounds, Finn Bouldin added 11. Tayden Lorenzen got off to a hot start with eight points in the first quarter, but finished with that to go with eight rebounds.
The Bluebirds finish 18-13 on the year. The best part about that? They’ll return everyone without a senior on the roster.
“We grew a lot and differently than I anticipated,” Listerman said. “Couldn’t be more proud of them as a group. The teams in this region, the district winners, it’s a major challenge to take them on. Next year we’ll have guys that are two and three-year starters so we should be more prepared for it.”
Cooper and Covington Catholic will meet in Tuesday’s semifinals at 6:30, back at Truist Arena.
JAGUARS 58, BLUEBIRDS 45
HIGHLANDS — 12-9-12-12 — 45
COOPER — 13-22-7-16 — 58
Scoring
Highlands (45) — Rickard 13, Bouldin 11, Lorenzen 8, Messmer 6, Listerman 4, Ebert 3
Cooper (58) — Brown 22, Johnson 17, J. Combs 10, R. Combs 5, Rodriguez 2, Knuckles 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Highlands 19/52, Cooper 19/39
3-Pointers: Highlands 6/19, Cooper 3/8
Free Throws: Highlands 1/4, Cooper 17/21
Rebounds: Highlands 28, Cooper 31
Assists: Highlands 14, Cooper 9
Steals: Highlands 7, Cooper 9
Blocked Shots: Highlands 2, Cooper 3
Turnovers: Highlands 13, Cooper 11
Records: Highlands 18-13, Cooper 21-5