PURVIS — It wasn’t without a fight, but the Columbia Academy Cougars claimed the Class 3A south state championship Saturday night with a 59-44 over Clinton Christian at Lamar Christian.
Now Columbia Academy (32-2) has its sights set squarely on a state championship, and its journey through the Class 3A state bracket began Wednesday at Canton Academy. As the top seed from the south, the Cougars played North No. 4 Lee Academy, but results were unavailable at press time. With a win, they would advance to the state semifinals Friday night at 7:15 against either Riverfield Academy, who they beat 62-39 Friday, or Marshall Academy. The championship is set for Saturday night at 7:15.
Head coach Dale Watts said it feels great to be south state champs, but he’s cautious about getting too excited after being upset in the first round of the state tournament in 2017 after winning south state. He said while CA’s first-round opponent, Lee Academy, is big, the other three teams from the north in the bracket are all smaller and quick like Clinton.
“I feel good. We’re No. 1 coming out of the south, and we’ve got a great opportunity right now,” he said. “The biggest thing right now is Cougar Nation, our fan support, has been fantastic.”
In a physical contest in which the refs swallowed their whistles a ton Saturday, Columbia Academy fell behind 9-2 to Clinton Christian through the first four minutes of play only to close the first quarter on a 9-0 run.
Watts said falling behind early was likely a result of him having the Cougars overcautious of Clinton’s full-court pressure.
“After we settled down and attacked it and got some easy baskets, then we ended up with some confidence. After we got some confidence, we were able to slow down and execute our half-court offense,” he said.
Because of Clinton’s quickness and ability to attack off the dribble, the Cougars weren’t able to play their usual man-to-man defense and instead had to use a 3-2 zone. Watts said they did a good job of keeping the Warriors out of the paint, especially KJ Sykes and Kari Hamilton, their two best players.
The game went back-and-forth until the 5:25 mark in the fourth quarter, when Clinton was called for two technical fouls — a player lost his cool after being called for a travel and the coach argued the call. Ras Pace swished three of the four shots to turn a six-point game into a 49-40 lead, and the Cougars cruised to the finish line from there.
“It put us in a more comfortable position and forced them to have to gamble a little more,” Watts said. “The technical fouls, to me, were the biggest turning point in the game.”
The Cougars ended up outscoring Clinton 17-6 in the fourth quarter to run away with the south state title after trailing by two points at the half and going into the fourth quarter up just four.
Tate Duncan controlled the paint and led the Cougars with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ethan Stringer, who knocked down four 3-pointers, followed with 19 points. Cody Fortenberry added 10 points and nine boards, and Ras Pace contributed nine points and six assists.
All four players were named to the all-tournament team.
Pictured Above: CA's Tate Duncan attacks off the dribble Saturday against Clinton Christian. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
