A bowling ball in the form of Trevor Cooper, forward for the No. 23 Cottage Grove Lions (4-12), was let loose in the first quarter of their rivalry matchup against the No. 4 Marist Catholic Spartans (10-3). Cooper dropped 15 points in the period, using his massive frame to bump his opponents out of the way like they’re pins at the alley and grind out layups. Late in the quarter, Cooper missed a layup, got his own board, stayed patient and skied in the air for the tough finish that capped off a fine quarter for the Lions.
Unfortunately, Cooper would leave the game with an injury in the third quarter, and Cottage Grove would fall 48-41.
“One, we didn’t rebound as good as we should have on the offensive side,” Lions head coach Seth Hutchison said. “You hate to look at injuries, but losing your best player in the second half and playing without them, you know. I’m pretty proud of these guys for just competing, playing their tails off against a really good, well-coached team. But it’s hard to overcome losing a guy like Trevor Cooper.”
Cooper ended up leading the way for the Lions offense anyway with a stellar 19 points in only three quarters.
The Lions looked to keep the good times rolling in this match as they picked up their second straight win last Friday in a 54-52 nailbiter against the North Bend Bulldogs.
The Spartans stepped in seeking to extend their lengthy win streak to seven. On Tuesday, Marist also took down the Bulldogs with a little more comfort in a 74-51 blowout.
Quarter one featured a one-man show in Cooper. Using his massive frame, one that is larger than anyone in the gym, he barreled his way down low multiple times for easy lay-ins. On defense, the Lions sat back in a 2-3 zone and executed wonderful rotations, forcing the Spartans to chuck and miss most 3s. After eight minutes of play, it was 17-9 Cottage Grove.
“He’s huge for us, he does a lot for us,” Hutchison said. “I asked him to do a lot for us. We coach the heck out of him. We coach him hard, and like I said, we ask him to do a lot of different things. Not just score the basketball, but to defend, rebound, helpside, we did a lot of different stuff. Having him is special. His offensive ability, his ability to alter shots, it's huge.”
Physicality defined the second quarter as both teams were diving into dog piles for every loose ball. Marist hung tough, but a big 3 from Lions guard Cade May and another bucket from Cooper kept Cottage Grove in the lead at the end of the first half. After two, it was 26-24 Lions.
Frustrations got the best of the Lions in the third as Marist crept back in and snagged the lead midway through the quarter. To add on to the already difficult task, Cooper went down with an injury early in the quarter and remained out for the rest of the game. In the blink of an eye, Cottage Grove lost their best player. Leading the push was a swarming Marist full-court press, which caused 10-second violations, turnovers and buckets on the other end for the Spartans. With around four minutes left in the period, Lions forward Kaleb Robertson picked up a technical foul while disagreeing with an official, which did not help the Cottage Grove efforts. With one quarter to play, it was 40-34 Marist.
Cottage Grove tried to make a push in the fourth with some passing lane steals and tough layups, but the Spartan trap was too much. Tight defense on the inbound passes forced the Lions to hurl deep passes, which was candy for the back players in the press to poach out of the air and get layups on the other end. This would end up being the dagger for Marist as they took down Cottage Grove 48-41.
This game also displayed a reunion, as Hutchison played for Spartans head coach Bart Pollard in his senior year of high school at Cottage Grove in 2006.
“His first year being a varsity head coach was my senior year here at Cottage Grove,” Hutchison said. “I was his first senior class, which is kind of cool. It’s always good to see him and get back with him. We just want to get one from him. They’re tough. They’re a good team.”
A search for another winning streak starts back up for the Lions on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 5:45 p.m. against the No. 15 Marshfield Pirates at home.
Over on the Marist side of the stat sheet, guard Bodey Drennan put together a complete game with a 20-point outburst, which featured 11 in the first half and nine in the second.
Marist will look to make it a great eight wins in a row with a date against the Baker Bulldogs at home on Jan. 24 at 2:30 p.m.