While the Columbia Wildcats have gone through a 19-day span with only taking the court twice, they have been able to improve their record to 3-4 after a comeback victory over North Forrest last Tuesday.
After beginning the second half down 12 points, the Wildcats responded in the second half in a big way. Outscoring North Forrest
22-10 in the third quarter to tie the game up and continuing that momentum into the fourth quarter with a 28-17 margin, Columbia topped the Eagles 71-60.
When the Wildcats are rolling on all cylinders, they are fueled by their defense creating fast break opportunities for their offense. Head coach Charlie James knows how to push the right button at different points in the game to spark his team, often deploying a full-court or three-quarter court zone pressure defense, and that’s what allowed Columbia to come back against North Forrest.
“We picked it up defensively. In the first half, we were kind of walking through it, then the defensive intensity picked up,” James said. “We got a couple of easy baskets, and you could see our energy level start to rise. We just weren’t ourselves in the first half.”
Though their defense was huge in fueling the comeback, so too was the ability of Nick Averett and TJ Monroe to draw contact, get to the charity stripe and sink their free throws. Averett poured in a game-high 21 points, shooting a perfect 11-of-11 from the line, and Monroe added 20 points, making 8-of-10 freebies. James said the duo getting to the line and converting their opportunities was the turning point for the Wildcats offense.
“TJ was really aggressive in the first half, but Nick wasn’t. We went in at halftime and I talked to (Nick) about being a little more aggressive. Then he came out in the second half with some aggression and it changed the landscape of the game,” he said. “It showed (North Forrest) a different element that they hadn’t seen of ours. We were too one-dimensional in the first half. Once Nick picked it up and got it going, you could see it lift the burden off of everyone else.”
Monroe pulled down a team-high seven rebounds with three assists and three steals, while Averett had four assists and four steals. Javen Moses added eight points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists.
The Wildcats have a big rematch on the books Thursday night, taking on East Marion in the Eagles’ holiday tournament. The last time the two Marion County rivals met, Dec. 1, they clashed in the best game in the county so far this season.
Columbia led the majority of the fourth quarter and had a five-point lead with 55 seconds remaining, but the Eagles battled back to steal the game as Flenard McLin put them up for good with two clutch free throws with 2.5 seconds left, winning 51-50.
“We’re really looking forward to it. That was a game that could have went either way, but unfortunately for us East was able to pull it out at the end,” James said. “Hopefully, it can be that type of game again where we give ourselves the chance to win it at the end. (East Marion) is playing really well right now. We need to be able to match their intensity.”
The way the two-day tournament is set up, a win would not only put the Wildcats in the championship game, it would keep the Eagles from having a chance to win their own tournament. However, James is more focused on a win boosting the morale of his players.
“It would be huge as far as our confidence level going forward,” he said. “East is a really good team, and these kids are playing as rivals. A lot of them know each other and see each other all the time, so it’s one of those games that has a lot of emotion. It just has to be channeled in the right direction.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
Pictured Above: TJ Monroe skies for a reverse layup. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
