Columbia Academy is coming off of a South State title season, but as the new season begins to unravel, the Cougars are still trying to figure out just who they are as a team.
They went through the same thing last year as well, awaiting the arrival of several football players to begin the season, but once they arrived it all came together rather quickly. That hasn’t been the case this year, and it’s because the football players getting acclimated isn’t the biggest difference.
This year, the Cougars are getting used to playing without two of their top three scorers in Wiley Cleland and Shea Stringer. Both players had great high school skillsets — length, athleticism, driving ability, a soft shooting touch and perimeter defense — which are all qualities head coach Dale Watts is trying to pry out of talented sophomores Ras Pace and Tate Duncan.
“Tate and Ras, we have to extend their boundaries from last year,” head coach Dale Watts said. “They have to play a bigger role. We’re trying to figure out what that role is and everybody’s identity. When we get that, I think this team will do well.”
Just before the Cougars got to take a break and enjoy turkey with their families for Thanksgiving, they traveled up to take part in the Brookhaven Classic, which isn’t a true tournament but guarantees each team plays two games.
The Cougars began Nov. 20 against Parklane Academy and coughed up an early lead to fall 42-38.
“We had a pretty comfortable lead at halftime and things were going pretty good for us. We were able to score on them and rebound well. In the second half, we didn’t finish around the basket some and gave up some easy baskets,” Watts said. “They were able to claw their way back into the game. With 15 seconds left in the game, we were down two and we called timeout and set up a baseline inbounds play. We probably should have went for a two-pointer that would’ve tied the game up, but we didn’t. We kicked it out for a wide open three and missed it. That was the ball game right there.”
That’s a part of that development that needs to take place for this year’s squad. The Cougars were excellent in late game situations last season, and while you can’t fault any team for getting a wide open shot, late game scenarios are often more successful with higher percentage looks at the rim.
Jay Stringer led the Cougars with 14 points, while Pace added 12 and Duncan had eight.
The following night against Bowling Green, the Cougars found themselves in another close game but executed down the stretch to pull out a 61-57 win.
“Bowling Green has a really good team. They do a lot of dribble drive and ball screens, and they did a good job of getting some shots on us,” Watts said. “There were a few times we had a double-digit lead, but it got within three. It always makes you nervous when you’re in a one-possession game, but we managed to control the game down the stretch and make some free throws to keep it out of reach.”
Owen Harper paced the Cougars with a season-high 28 points, while Pace added 10 and Duncan had eight.
Watts said that kind of production out of Harper is what they are going to need as Pace and Duncan develop to fill the vacant roles of Cleland and Stringer.
“Harper was hurt during the summer and didn’t get to play in the camps with us. Jay Stringer missed part of one camp. I’ve got five guys starting that played on last year’s team with Wiley (Cleland) and Shea (Stringer), but we’re still looking for our identity as a team,” he said. “I’m talking about who can do what and do it together. We’re depending on Harper, and he’s going to have to score a lot for us until we can establish a little more of an identity at the different positions.”
The Cougars host Pontchartrain Christian Thursday night and Centreville Academy Saturday.
Pictured Above: Owen Harper launches a corner three against Forrest County AHS. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
