Cooper rolls past Alba-Golden

Posted 2/11/21

The Alba-Golden vs. Cooper basketball game last Tuesday was a great game up until the 5:00 mark of the first half. Cooper closed out the half on an 18-4 run and went on to defeat the Panthers 56-42.

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Cooper rolls past Alba-Golden

Posted

The Alba-Golden vs. Cooper basketball game last Tuesday was a great game up until the 5:00 mark of the first half. Cooper closed out the half on an 18-4 run and went on to defeat the Panthers 56-42.

Those first 11 minutes of action was full of great basketball: offenses in motion, solid defense, rebound battles and smart basketball. 

Down by seven at the end of the first quarter, the Panthers began to come back. Three inside scores by Boedy Baker, one of which came on a nice assist from Blake Weissert, and a smooth scoring drive across the lane by Will Hartin closed the score to 18-13 at that five minute mark.  

At that point, Cooper just turned on their jets, scoring at will and aggressively attacking the length of the court. Alba-Golden was out of their element and could not match the offensive production, nor slow the fast-breaking Bulldogs. 

The Panthers were down by as much as 24 in the third quarter. A late surge closed the score to a respectable 14 at the final buzzer. Late scores by Kaden Kennedy, Brayden Randolph, Baker and Jack Patten ensured that Alba-Golden ended the game on a positive note.

As usual, Baker was a monster inside the paint. He muscled in 18 points to lead the Panthers and dominated the boards early in the game. 

The Panthers are still looking to secure that fourth playoff spot. It is now at risk, after Friday’s heartbreaking loss to Boles. 

In the next two contests, the Panthers face the first and second place teams in the district, while Boles, should they sweep their remaining two games against Cumby and Como-Pickton, could snatch the fourth spot away from Alba-Golden.