Throughout their historically great start to the season, the Cougars hadn’t needed to win ugly while being exceptionally dominant, but Columbia Academy proved it could do just that with a big win over rival Simpson Academy Friday night on the road.
The Cougars (15-1, 4-0) and Simpson were locked in an up-and-down, high-scoring contest early on, but every time CA would start to build a lead Simpson would come back to tie it up. So head coach Dale Watts opted to slow the game down in a very loud and energetic environment, and with under two minutes to play in the fourth quarter the Cougars had a four-point lead but missed a couple of easy shots and allowed Simpson to tie the game 41-41 with 20 seconds to play.
The Cougars held the ball for the last shot and called a play with under 10 seconds remaining that allowed Ras Pace to drive into the paint and connect on a runner at the buzzer for a game-winning shot.
Watts said Simpson has a really good team with some players who can shoot and quick guards, and it was a good test for the Cougars because it put them in adverse situations they had to overcome. He added winning against a good team on the road gives the Cougars the confidence that they have the potential to win state this year.
“It also let us know that even thought I feel like the leadership of our team are seniors so we should be mature, but even in maturity you’ve got to grow,” Watts said. “Winning a game on the road in a hotly contested contest, it gives us a little more confidence in the fact that we can make some adjustments and do what we need to do to win the game.”
Tate Duncan had an exceptional game both attacking the basket and controlling the glass, finishing with 19 points and 21 rebounds. The hero of the game (Pace) added 15 points as the duo accounted for 79 percent of CA’s offensive production.
The following night in Franklinton, La., the Cougars didn’t have a letdown after the emotional win and remained unbeaten in district play with a 61-39 victory over Bowling Green. Watts said he purposely sets up CA’s schedule to have multiple Friday-Saturday back-to-backs because that’s the way the south state and state tournaments are set up.
“You’re going to have to play on Friday and Saturday. The semifinals are generally on Friday, and the championship is on Saturday. I try to throughout the year put our kids in that situation a lot so they have to rebound off an emotional win because that time is going to come in the playoffs,” he said.
As good as Duncan was against Simpson, he was even better Saturday with 27 points and 22 rebounds. Watts said that while Duncan is always the focus of the opposition’s defense, the Cougars have better shooters around him this year and it’s allowing him to remain efficient despite the heavy attention.
Watts said it showed up against Simpson with Ethan Stringer knocking down a pair of 3-pointers when Simpson was in a 2-3 zone and trying to take away Duncan.
After Stringer made the shots, Simpson had to extend its defense back out the perimeter and allowed Duncan to continue to score.
Even with the high volume of points for Duncan, Watts said there are times when he wants the 6-foot-5 senior to be even more aggressive.
“I’m on Tate a lot because he’ll give up the ball a lot, and I want him to in a bad situation, but on the other hand sometimes it’s better for him to shoot the ball under the goal with two people on him than it is for somebody to shoot it wide open,” he said. “We’re riding on Tate’s coat tails. As far as rebounding and scoring, he’s the man.”
Duncan got some help from Pace once again against Bowling Green with Pace adding 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Cougars will enjoy a long holiday break before getting back on the hardwood Jan. 3 at Saint Stanislaus.
