Heading into last week’s action, the Columbia Wildcats (11-10, 7-2) controlled their own destiny in Class 3A Region 8, but that is no longer the case.
The Wildcats turned defense into offense and consistently finished at the rim last Tuesday night at home in a 71-53 win over Wesson.
Monroe had his typical dominant game, scoring 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from distance to go along with 11 rebounds and four assists. Nick Averett, who was playing his last regular season home game on senior night, sank 70 percent of his shots for 15 points as did Jaheim Oatis, who finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds — five offensive.
As impressive as they looked against the Cobras, the Wildcats played one of their worst games all season at Tylertown Friday night. Columbia fell behind big early and only dug the hole even deeper in the second half, losing 75-42.
“We came out ready to play against Wesson, then traveled over to Tylertown Friday night and just was not ready to play,” head coach Charlie James said. “We have to do a better job of being ready to play on another team’s floor. Tylertown was ready and focused, and we didn’t answer the call. We played slow, indecisive and they took advantage of us in every way.”
Monroe had his worst shooting night since December at 33 percent but still had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Averett suffered through a 4-of-14 shooting night for nine points to go along with five steals, and Oatis was held scoreless for the first time since Dec. 1, when he wasn’t getting consistent minutes yet. Oatis dealt with foul trouble all night and struggled to find any sort of rhythm. As a team, the Wildcats shot just 32 percent from the field, one of their lowest percentages of the season.
On the season Columbia is 6-1 at home but 5-9 in road or neutral-site contests — a likely byproduct of having just one senior (Averett) on the team.
“I just let one of my older guys know that those hostile environments are something these young kids haven’t seen and haven’t reacted well to, especially in those smaller, compact gyms where the fans are right up on you,” James said. “At home they’re a lot more comfortable, and they play a lot more free. We’ve been too tight and afraid to make mistakes (on the road). When you’re afraid out there that’s what happens.”
James added Oatis and the rest of the young guys struggled to keep pace throughout the game.
“We were a step slow, and (Jaheim) was a step slow. That’s why he was in foul trouble because he was late getting to where he was supposed to be,” James said. “I hate to say it, but we just kind of went through the motions. It was a very disappointing performance, but one I hope we can battle back from. We’ve been working on trying to get back to running up and down the floor, which is what we’ve excelled at.”
Heading into Tuesday’s night action, Columbia, Tylertown and Jefferson Davis County each had two losses. Tylertown and Jeff Davis played each other (results unavailable) so a Columbia win over Seminary (results unavailable) would set up a tie for first-place in the district.
Columbia beat the Bulldogs 78-49 in their first matchup on Jan. 19. However, Columbia would likely be seeded No. 2 in the district tournament at Seminary due to point differential. While Columbia beat both Jeff Davis and Tylertown earlier in the season, its point differential in those wins is lesser than the point differential in its losses to both.
UPDATE: Columbia lost to Seminary Tuesday and will play West Marion in the first round of the district tournament. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m.
Pictured Above: Nick Averett sinks a floater in the lane. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
