The Cooper boys basketball team is one step closer to a fully healthy team after Andy Johnson returned on Saturday as the Jaguars exploded for a 71-50 home win over Grant County.
Johnson finished with 14 points including a monster dunk, playing for the first time since Cooper’s second game of the season on Dec. 3 due to an injury. Johnson averaged 25 points per game in Cooper’s first two games of the season.
“I did well in the second half. I got open looks in the first half. My shots just weren’t falling,” Johnson said. “I got back and played hard on defense. That got my energy back up.”
Jaidan Combs scored 19 points to lead the Jaguars, including 11 in the second half. Shaun Pouncy recorded a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds with 12 rebounds coming in the second half and Isaiah Johnson added 11 points and six rebounds.
“I just thought in the first half, Grant played harder than we did,” Cooper head coach Tim Sullivan said. “It was a Saturday afternoon game. It doesn’t matter what time it is. You have to get up to play. I thought Grant came out and hit us in the mouth. I didn’t like the way we reacted. We made some adjustments at halftime and more just talked about how our energy was and how we were playing on the defensive end. I thought in the second half, our kids really locked in on the defensive end. Our energy picked up.”
Now the Jaguars are hopeful to get Yamil Rondon back this week, who’s missed the last five games with an injury.
Cooper (18-8) travels to Dixie Heights on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. game.
Conner 66, Highlands 47
The Cougars continued their surge winning the contest that was originally scheduled for Friday night, but pushed back to Saturday afternoon due to weather concerns.
Conner has won seven of their last eight.
“I think it’s been getting more experience,” Conner head coach Matthew Otte said of the team’s turnaround. “When we started the year, there was nobody that had started a varsity game for Conner ever so I think it took us a while to kind of figure out what it took to play at the varsity level and do it consistently enough throughout a game to win. I think we’ve kind of figured out how to use them better as coaches and we understand who can do what and who can’t. We try to play to their strengths as best as we can.”
Conner had nine different players score in the win making 12 three-pointers overall. Finn Louden led the way scoring 15 points on three triples with Brady Bushman scoring 14 making four 3-pointers. Landon Warner and Chase Huff followed scoring 11 and eight points, respectively.
“We’ve been playing a lot better as a team and gathered a lot of wins together when we started to figure it out,” Louden said. “You have to trust your teammates to make the right plays, make the shots and just give them the opportunity.”
Vinny Listerman led Highlands with 16 points and Brayden Moeves scored 11.
Conner (10-15) hosts Lloyd Memorial on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Highlands (16-12) travels to Simon Kenton on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
Calvary Christian 73, Portland Christian 57
The Cougars won their third in a row taking down the 7th Region opponent.
Calvary Christian shot 40% from the field and grabbed 44 rebounds in the win. Peyton Morris led the Cougars with 19 points.
Race Zachary and Luke Getsy both had double-doubles for Calvary recording 14 rebounds each. Zachary had 17 points and Getsy scored 13 with Esaias Liggett adding 12 points.
Calvary Christian (11-18) hosts St. Patrick on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Other Boys Basketball Scores
Dixie Heights 74, Williamstown 39
Holy Cross (Louisville) 57, Boone County 56
Lloyd Memorial 61, Collins 36
Walton-Verona 67, Newport Central Catholic 58
St. Xavier 87, Ryle 69
Thomas Nelson 83, Holmes 51
Girls Basketball Scores
Villa Madonna 51, Holmes 23
Dayton 52, Holmes 48
Great Crossing 47, Newport Central Catholic 42
Trimble County 47, Lloyd Memorial 44