The Conner Cougars and Cooper Jaguars boys basketball teams are not afraid to push the ball when they have the advantages.
But in the halfcourt, they are both patient passing the ball around trying to find driving lanes and make things happen. When either team builds a lead, it really puts them in control as a result. In this key 33rd District seed game, that run came in the third quarter when the Cougars (2-3, 1-0) finished it with a 10-0 run to go up 42-29 on its way to a 55-42 win over the visiting Jaguars (3-4, 0-1).
“We’ve talked about that,” said Matthew Otte, Conner head coach. “After playing Saturday and not playing again until Friday, we had a good week of where we could get into some stuff. If something doesn’t go right for you on either end of the floor, you can’t carry it to the next possession. You just have to keep playing. You know Cooper is not going to just stop. They’re going to throw their punch. I thought we handled it and were able to counter it with our own.”
Senior guard Dalton Kramer led the Cougars making three three-pointers on his way to 15 points. Senior guard Daniel Campbell followed with 12 points and senior guard Landen Hamilton scored 11.
“All practice, we were talking about taking care of the ball,” Kramer said. “We’ve been struggling with turning the ball over a bit lately. Hitting our shots is the most important thing. I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
But Conner had a number of others contribute even if not scoring. Senior guard Cory Henson made two key triples including one from the right wing with 3:13 left in the third quarter to give Conner a 38-29 lead after Cooper cut the lead to 32-29 earlier in the quarter.
“You just have to get better every day,” Henson said. “It was a big three. I have to thank Dalton Kramer for getting me the pass. I wouldn’t have hit it without him. I let it fly. It went in and gave us a lot of confidence.”
Then junior forward Ben Fay at 6-foot-6 could give the Cougars some scoring inside. He had two offensive putbacks in the second quarter on his way to seven points.
“Anytime you get some stuff from some of the extra guys that you’re not necessarily expecting it from, it’s good,” Otte said. “We’ve been talking to Ben about making sure he hits the boards because that’s one thing we know he can do. He did and did a great job of finishing down there through some contact.”
Cooper finished off a tough week learning their leading scorer in 6-9 senior forward Caleb Brooks is out for the season after tearing his right Anterior Cruciated Ligament against Simon Kenton on Tuesday. He came into the game averaging a team-high 11.3 points per game.
“We had two days to get back up after the Simon Kenton game,” said Tim Sullivan, Cooper head coach. “It’s no excuse. But it’s been a very emotional week for our kids, myself included. I wear my heart on my sleeve. When you invest as much time as we do with these kids, they become your own. I don’t think many people thought we could compete knowing Caleb wasn’t on the floor. Our mindset is to keep moving forward and fighting. That’s all you can do. You can either lay on the mat or keep fighting.”
But the Jaguars know its next player up. Sophomore point guard Yamil Rondon led the Jaguars with 17 points. But no one else scored more than five points, even though eight Jaguars scored.
“Hats off to Conner. They’re senior-led,” Sullivan said. “They just have a really solid group. They never look like they panic or waver. I couldn’t tell you how proud I am of our kids. We have a lot on the floor. One thing we’re stressing now is toughness. I thought in the third quarter, they out-toughed us. They hit a lot of shots and we settled for a lot of jump shots. We didn’t get to the glass like we normally do.”
The first quarter went back and forth. But Kramer made a three and Hamilton laid one in the paint to put Conner up for good at 14-11 after the first quarter.
Conner appeared to start taking control in the second quarter with a 6-0 run before a Hamilton fast-break lay-up and ensuing free throw gave the Cougars a 27-17 lead.
Cooper responded with an 8-0 run. But Kramer hit a lay-up to give Conner a 29-25 halftime lead. The closest Cooper came in the fourth quarter was 11 points.
Conner plays Cincinnati (Ohio) College Prep Academy at 11 a.m. at Cincinnati Hughes on Sunday in the Queen City Showcase. Cooper plays in the Nissan Legacy Dribble Drive Challenge at South Laurel starting Tuesday against Knox Central at 8:15 p.m.
Other Scores
Simon Kenton 76, South Oldham 48
Louisville St. Xavier 60, St. Henry 58
Heritage Academy 68, Highlands Latin 65
Beechwood 49, Shelby Valley 47
Anderson County 51, Bellevue 37
Boone County 74, Ryle 50
Immaculate Conception Academy (Ohio) 53, Calvary Christian 42
Covington Catholic 88, Cincinnati (Ohio) La Salle 69
Ludlow 53, Holmes 43
Mason County 76, Scott 56