Southern Sports & Travel: Prentiss at Columbia Recap

Columbia Sweeps Prentiss
By Darron Thomas
The Columbia Cougars returned to action for the first time in 17 days on Tuesday night in Columbia against the Prentiss Saints. Not only had the Cougars not played in 17 days but Tuesday night was their first home game since a December 12th game with Bowling Green. A nice crowd was on hand as Coach Reid McCay's boy's squad entered Tuesday night's match up with Prentiss as the #4 ranked team in Da Man's Top 5 poll. Prentiss, guided by Coach Randy Holloway, came into Tuesday's contest with an 8-2 mark following a three point loss at home to Simpson this past Saturday.

Columbia looked rusty and showed signs of the long layoff but after a sluggish start the Cougars were able to build a 16-10 lead after the first quarter. That lead swelled to 37-23 at halftime as Columbia's full court man defense forced numerous turnovers in the second quarter. Columbia opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run, which included two Tanner Pace free throws, to push the lead to 43-23 at the 5:32 mark. Prentiss, to their credit, never gave up and went on a 9-4 run to finish the third period down 47-32. The Saints were effectively forcing Cougar turnovers with opportune trapping and ultimately shaved the lead to 8 points at the 2:35 mark in the final quarter but could get no closer as Columbia made critical free throws down the stretch to provide the final score of 54-46.

Columbia was led by junior Drew Broome and sophomore guard Tanner Pace with 17 points each while Keaton Stamps and Ethan Lee led Prenitss with 10 points each. With the win Columbia improves to 12-7 and 1-1 in district play while Prentiss drops to 8-3 and 0-3.

In the girl's contest on Tuesday night the Lady Cougars of Columbia jumped on the Lady Saints early as they built a steady 21-6 first quarter lead. That lead ballooned to 33-11 at the half and a 47-17 advantage as the third quarter came to an end. The Lady Cougars coasted to a 59-20 win behind the scoring of two sophomores, Ashton Scarborough and Hannah Martin who each had 12 points, and junior Olivia Ryals who added 11 on the night. With the win Columbia evens their district mark at 1-1 and now they await a big district battle next Tuesday night as Brookhaven comes to town. The Prentiss Lady Saints fell to 8-6 and 1-2 in district and will next face Copiah on Friday night. They were led in scoring by LeAnne Griffith who had 8 points.

There was a nice crowd on hand Tuesday night in Columbia and the facilities are first class as is the food (the chili is almost as good as my mother's). Prentiss brought a good crowd which is always a good sign. The Saints boys team has lost three straight games but they deserve lots of credit for their intensity and hustle on the night. They have lots of speed and they attempt to play a fast tempo style of ball but on Tuesday night it led to poor shot selection and too many turnovers. Columbia's boys are a young squad starting just one senior and will no doubt get better as January progresses. Sophomore guard Tanner Pace plays much older and junior post player Drew Bloome has a good overall game. Both girls teams are very young and have lots of promise ahead.

Thanks for all the hospitality, the Columbia and Prentiss folks were super nice!

see ya somewhere................