An upset stomach sent Yamil Rondon to Cooper’s locker room Wednesday.
Rondon ultimately gave Lloyd Memorial some serious indigestion – his 20 points led the Jaguars to a 56-52 win.
“I thought we played well tonight,” Rondon said. “We executed when we needed to, and I thought we got away with a great win.”
Cooper coach Tim Sullivan thought Rondon was sick.
“A couple times he had to go back to the locker room and relieve himself, throwing up a little bit,” Sullivan said. “I don’t know if it was just something he ate earlier or what happened. He seems to be OK; we’ve just got to get a lot of fluids in him.”
It turned out Rondon’s trouble was something he ate.
“I ate some gummies,” he said.
Sullivan said Rondon’s night was the latest example of his learning to control what he can.
“When Yamil focuses on what Yamil can control, there’s not many people that are better than him,” Sullivan said.
Cooper’s (11-7) keys seemed simple: attack the middle of Lloyd’s defense, run at the ball on defense, win battles in the trenches. The Jaguars mostly succeeded: they out-rebounded the Juggernauts, 25-16 (Jaiden Combs grabbed 10), outscored them in the paint, 34-28, and added 13 second-chance points to Lloyd’s 11.
Lloyd (13-5) coach Michael Walker said Wednesday’s game and Friday’s home game against Covington Catholic were preparation for a pair of 34th District road games next week: Dixie Heights on Tuesday and Ludlow on Jan. 27.
As for Wednesday, Walker didn’t need many words to describe what happened.
“Slow start,” Walker said. “We had slow starts.”
What Cooper did not do was contain Lloyd’s Isaiah Sebastian and EJ Walker – they scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Cooper opened with a 13-6 run, featuring Combs’ four points and two offensive rebounds and Rondon’s three. It also didn’t help Lloyd to be scoreless for nearly three minutes.
A single play illustrated Cooper’s quickness – Isaac Brown led a 3-on-2 runout, which ended with Shaun Pouncy’s dunk and a 24-14 lead.
Lloyd – or more specifically Sebastian – subsequently awakened.
Sebastian’s five points closed Cooper’s lead to 33-31 a minute into the third quarter, his and-one made it 52-50 with 1:21 to go in the fourth, and two free throws made it 54-53 with 36.9 seconds remaining.
It wasn’t enough because Rondon knocked down a bucket with 48 seconds to go, and Isaiah Johnson’s two free throws with :12.2 left ended the scoring.
Coach Walker took the blame for the last minute.
“I messed up,” he said. “I didn’t do a great job managing the last minute of the game. Normally, I trust my guys to do it, and the way we were playing, I probably should’ve called time out and ran something to get a bucket.”
Cooper’s schedule is no easier that Lloyd’s – Boone County comes calling at 8 p.m. Friday in a game that could determine the top seed in the 33rd District tournament.
“Huge game Friday,” Sullivan said. “Humongous game Friday.”
JAGUARS 56, JUGGERNAUTS 52
LLOYD — 9-17-12-14 — 52
COOPER — 17-14-11-14 — 56
Scoring
LLOYD (52) —Blaackar 8, Sebastian 19, Walker 18, Humphrey 5, Copeland 2.
COOPER (56) —Blackburn 6, Combs 8, Johnson 10, Rondon 20, S. Pouncy 9, Murphy 3.
Game Stats
Field Goals: L 20/44, C 22/40
3-Pointers: L 5/14, C 4/7
Free Throws: L 7/8, C 8/12
Rebounds: L 16, C 25
Assists: L 8, C 6
Turnovers: L 7, C 11
Fouls: L13, C 12. Fouled out: None.
Records: L 13-5, C 11-7.