Postseason in January? It certainly felt like it on Tuesday night in Park Hills. From the moment the game tipped-off, the intensity could be felt.
In a clash between two of the top teams in the ninth region, Cooper came out on top over Covington Catholic, 65-55.
On the road in a rowdy environment, the Jaguars never backed down, bringing their own energy to the floor.
“You knew that the crowd was going to be fired up,” Cooper head coach Tim Sullivan said. “This was a high-level game. This is Ninth Region basketball for you. Everybody wants to get excited. It’s Cooper versus CovCath. It was special to watch. I’m just really proud of our kids with the way they continue to battle and fight the entire game because you can’t relax against a team like that.”
Yamil Rondon and Shaun Pouncy were the difference makers for Cooper, both scoring 17 points. The two played off of each other, Rondon outside the paint and Pouncy down low.
Rondon stayed poised, as did his teammates as they committed just six turnovers on the night in not letting the noise get to them.
“Coach Sullivan told me before the game if I keep my head in the game, I would have a great game and I thought I did that,” Rondon said. “I thought we all did that and got a great win over a great team. It’s only up from here.” Rondon said.
Pouncy battled inside, not backing down from the Colonels’ star Caden Miller, adding five rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.
“It was all energy,” Pouncy said. “Coach (Sullivan) does a great job to get us hyped up. You can’t just do nothing but have energy. You just want to go out there and do everything you can to win. When you look over at your coach and your bench hyped, you just want to give it your all.”
Miller still had a historic night for the Colonels with a 13 point, 10 rebound and 11 block triple-double, breaking his own school record with the 11 swats.
Miller’s block party started early with three of them on one possession in the first. CovCath led through the majority of the early stanza, but Cooper’s Tanner Murphy knocked down a triple at the buzzer for a 14-13 Cooper lead after one.
The back-and-forth ensued, Cooper holding a tight edge for the second frame and going into halftime with a 32-29 advantage.
The Jaguars opened their largest lead of the night with a 7-0 run to open up the second half and a 39-29 lead. Austin Alexander provided some big minutes off the bench for Cooper, his layup making it 43-38 Jaguars before CovCath got within 45-42 to end the third.
Rondon and Cash Harney traded some big baskets in the fourth, but Cooper was able to remain poised down the stretch as the Colonels could get no closer than five in the closing minutes.
The Colonels also had three other players with double-digit scoring. Harney led the team with 14, Athens McGillis had 12, and Brady Hussey put up 10, but the lack of 3-point shooting hurt. They shot 2-of-16 from deep, struggling to get open shots from the Jaguars pressure.
For the first time since 2013, Cooper was able to pick up a win in Park Hills. They now stand at 13-7 on the year with a stretch of three solid wins over Lloyd Memorial, Boone County and now Covington Catholic. The Jaguars look to keep up their success as they head back home for a game against Lexington Christian on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
“We’re getting to the place where we want to be as a team and that’s playing for one another, being together off the floor, taking care of each other, and just being selfless basketball players.” Sullivan said.
The Colonels lose their first game since December 28, snapping an eight-game winning streak and first region loss of the season moving them to 15-5 overall. They will head to Northern Kentucky University’s Truist Arena Friday for a matchup with Highlands at 7:30 p.m.
JAGUARS 65, COLONELS 55
COOPER — 14-18-13-20 — 65
COVINGTON CATHOLIC — 13-16-13-13 — 55
Scoring
COOPER (65) — Rondon 17, S. Pouncy 17, Blackburn 9, Combs 9, Alexander 6, Murphy 5, Johnson 2
COVINGTON CATHOLIC (55) — Harney 14, Miller 13, McGillis 12, Hussey 10, Ruthsatz 4, Kruer 2
Game Stats
Field Goals: Cooper 24/55, CovCath 21/46
3-Pointers: Cooper 4/15, CovCath 2/16
Free Throws: Cooper 13/20, CovCath 11/16
Rebounds: Cooper 36, CovCath 29
Assists: Cooper 11, CovCath 8
Turnovers: Cooper 6, CovCath 9
Records: Cooper 13-7, Covington Catholic 15-5