JUNCTION CITY – The Cottage Grove Lions boys basketball team went into Friday night winless in Sky-Em League play at 0-2. Looking to secure their first league win, the Lions traveled to Junction City to face the Tigers.
Thanks to a barrage of 3s early and good defense late, Cottage Grove triumphed 66-59.
Cottage Grove opened the game swinging, knocking down seven 3-pointers in the first quarter to take the lead 25-15. The Lions achieved this by taking advantage of Junction City’s 2-3 zone, with six of their seven 3s coming from the corner.
“We did a good job of executing what we were asked before the game started, and that’s inside-out looks,” Lions coach Seth Hutchison said. “We throw it inside, they’ve gotta commit multiple people, and that leaves us wide-open looks for our outside shooters who can shoot the ball pretty well. So I was excited to see the zone.”
Junction City audiblized out of its zone at the start of the second quarter, opting to play man-to-man. The switch was effective as the Tigers won the quarter 17-6, erasing CG’s lead.
“The things we talked about before the game, we didn’t do so well outside of shooting the basketball. We didn’t take care of (the ball), we had eight turnovers in the first half, we were getting our butts kicked on the boards, specifically on the offensive boards,” Hutchison said.
Down one point at the half with no momentum, Cottage Grove needed to adjust quickly. Despite having a quiet night up to this point, Lions sophomore Trevor Cooper answered the call and stepped up, notching 11 points in the third quarter, and seven in the fourth.
It was enough to lift the Lions.
“He’s a heck of a player, and he’s just getting better every game,” Hutchison said. “I tell him every day, ‘The tape’s out. The league knows what they’re gonna do against you, and they’re gonna send two or three guys.’ … So (I told) him at halftime to be aggressive, square up before trying to take a shot, take it one step at a time. And he was very aggressive and very effective for us in that second half. I think he can be one of the best bigs in our league for sure as only a sophomore right now. He’s still gonna keep getting better, but I have tremendous trust in Trevor.”
Defensively for Cottage Grove, Tai Lam was everywhere. The sophomore had four steals on Friday night, and his hustle did not go unnoticed.
“The games we struggle defensively, he doesn’t have a very good defensive game. When he does have a good defensive game and he gets in control of the other team’s point guard and gets them pushed out and not have them start their offense where they want to start it, he’s massive,” Hutchison said.
As Cottage Grove dives deeper into league play, Hutchison hopes this win can be a stepping stone.
“This is a young, relatively inexperienced team. To come into Junction City, a tough place to play, it’s loud, they’ve got a great student section. To come out here and get a win, that’s big for this team,” Hutchison said.
