The Shadow
COUGAR OPENER — Covington’s James Switzer goes to the basket in an opening night 81-31 win over Eastern Montgomery. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
COUGAR OPENER — Covington’s James Switzer goes to the basket in an opening night 81-31 win over Eastern Montgomery. (Gavin Dressler Photo)
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Opening night jitters?
Not so for the Covington Cougars.
After an eye-popping performance by Keith Moore’s jayvee contingency, Garland Jefferson’s varsity troops made quick work of Eastern Montgomery in Wednesday’s nightcap.
With veterans Kashawn Carter, Raquann Matthews and Quinton Hunter leading the way, 12 Cougars landed in the scoring column as they easily defeated Eastern Montgomery, 81-31.
Matthews scored 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor, including four 3-pointers, while Carter also had 16 and Hunter added 11.
Kameron Pierce nailed three 3-balls and just missed double figures with nine, while Darnell Tolson rounded out a balanced Covington attack with eight.
“I thought it was a tremendous start to the season,” Jefferson said. “The last couple of years, we’ve lost 8-10 games at the beginning of the season before getting our first win, so it’s nice to get a win right off the bat.”
The Cougars forced nine first-quarter turnovers, and a couple of threes by Carter and another by Matthews gave them a 19-10 lead after one.
A 14-3 run to start the second quarter that was capped by a Matthews dish to Carter gave the Cougars a 20-point lead at 33-13, and a Carter steal and layup closed the first half scoring and gave Covington a 41-15 lead at intermission.
“The thing that jumped out at me was how unselfish we were,” Jefferson said. “We played very good team ball, and the effort was there. We got after it on defense as well as offense.”
The Cougars outscored their guests 48-18 over the middle two quarters and led 67-28 after three.
“Everybody contributed in some form,” Jefferson said. “Everyone did a good job on defense. To hold them to 31 points in 32 minutes is a pretty good effort.”
Jefferson said he expects leadership from his seniors, but he was also pleased with the contributions from his newcomers.
“We know the Quinton Hunters, the Raquann Matthews and the Kashawn Carters are going to do a good job, but we’ve had some people show up — Josh Clark, Noah Fertig. I’m sure those guys had some jitters, but they did a good job for us,” he concluded.
In Wednesday’s opener, the Cougars bolted to a 32-0 lead after one and cruised to an 82-9 win over the Mustangs.
Kiante Barber’s 17 points paced the Cougars, while Ahmir Young had 16. Caleb Haynes and Josh Roldan added 12 each, while Brandon Thornton scored seven.
Austin Douglas had five, Milton Switzer and Naseem Darcus scored four apiece, K.J. Moore had three and Brandon Hubbard rounded out the Covington scoring with two.
The Cougars enjoyed a 48-4 lead at intermission.
Friday night, Jeremy Williams scored a game-high 34 points to pace the Glenvar Highlanders to a 61-50 win over the visiting Cougars.
Covington fell behind 11-0 early before coming back to take the lead afer one, 14-13.
Glenvar led 29-27 at the half and built that lead to 47-28 after three.
Chris Dishon added 11 for the Highlanders, while D.J. Witt kicked in 10.
Shemar Brown scored 13 to lead the Cougars, while Carter had 11 and Matthews scored 10.
“We got down 11 early, but came back to take the lead,” Jefferson said.
“Jeremy Williams was a tough cover,” the Covington coach added. “He had the green light, and he had the ball in his hands at the end of the game. He’s a good ballplayer.”
The Cougars, now 1-1 on the season, travel down Interstate 81 Monday to Montgomery County for a quick return engagement with the Mustangs.
