As they’ve done all season, the Cougars cruised through the District 4 tournament at Bowling Green to earn the No. 1 seed going into the south state tournament.
Columbia Academy (29-2) had a first-round bye in the district tournament and wasted no time taking care of business, beating Wayne Academy in the semifinals Friday and Bowling Green in the championship Saturday.
The Cougars opened the south state tournament at Lamar Christian Wednesday against the No. 4 seed from District 3, Tri-County Academy. Results were unavailable at press time, but head coach Dale Watts said Monday that he believed CA’s size could overwhelm Tri-County.
“They’ve got one player that’s a point guard who is extremely quick. They have a lot of balance and a lot of speed but not a lot of size,” he said. “I really think it’s a good matchup for us.”
With a win Columbia Academy would play either Riverfield Academy or Lamar Christian in the south state semifinals Friday night at 7:45. The championship game is scheduled for 5:15 Saturday night.
The top four teams from the south state tournament automatically advance to the Class 3A tournament next week at Canton Academy, meaning a win over Tri-County Wednesday would clinch CA a spot.
In the district semifinal Friday, CA dominated Wayne 76-46. Tate Duncan led the way with 27 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, and Ras Pace added 22 points, four boards and four assists. Cody Fortenberry was all over the court with 12 points and five steals, while Ethan Stringer chipped in 10 points, three steals and three assists.
The Cougars took on host Bowling Green for the district title and once again cruised to a 63-36 victory. Duncan had a monster double-double with 16 points, 19 rebounds and three assists, and Pace had 15 points and five boards. Stringer and Fortenberry each chipped in 14.
In a packed gym where the noise grew so loud that the Cougars couldn’t hear play calls, Watts said he was proud of the way his players just went into their base offense on their own and executed.
“They did a good job of just attacking the weaknesses of the defense and got some transition baskets that we needed. They got the game in the open floor and used their talent to break the defense down,” he said. “That’s not something we always do, so I was extremely proud of that.”
CA was up 10 at the half so Bowling Green went to a man-to-man defense in the second half in an attempt to create turnovers. But it didn’t faze the Cougars, who were able to continually beat the Buccaneers off the dribble and increase the lead.
Pictured Above: The Columbia Academy Cougars lift the District 4 championship trophy Saturday at Bowling Green. They include, from left, head coach Dale Watts, Will Arinder, Ladner Watts, Hays Carley, Robert Johnson, Jacob Bain, Ethan Stringer, Ras Pace, Cody Fortenberry, Jeffrey Pennington, Caleb King, Eli Beard, Carter Rowell and assistant coach Brett Rutland. | Photo submitted
