Cougars Make it 12 Wins in a Row

Friday night the Capital Christian Boys Basketball team made it 12 wins in a row defeating the Marysville Indians 77-49. The Cougars are 6 - 0 in league play and are undefeated in their last 12 games. Friday night's game was important to the Cougars as they are working hard to keep their No. 1 seeding as playoffs start in just two weeks. It is important to maintain a high seeding to ensure at least one home playoff game, possibly two.

The Cougars came out gunning and outscored Marysville 27 - 10 in the first quarter. Senior Matt Donlan had 10 in the quarter, ably supported by Freshman Trey Belton with 8. The Cougars  kept up their steady scoring with a variety of inside and outside shots and the post players used their height advantage to scoop up most of the rebounds as well. Point Guard Tyler Jennings, supported by guards Marcelas Perry and Justice Shelton-Mosely kept finding their scorers and the three combined for more than a dozen assists through the game. Post man and Sophomore Nifae Lealao was dominant in the paint and was capably supported by Freshmen Trey Belton and Nick Aibuedefe and Sophomore DJ Wilson. These four dominated the paint with nearly 20 rebounded possessions.

Coach Terry Battenberg has worked hard with his young giants to ensure these second chance possessions and it is a major feature of the Cougars game.  Coach Battenberg was able to rest his starters the entire fourth quarter and to give his bench the opportunity for more playing time - something that is necessary if the Cougars are going to make a deep run into the playoffs. The next challenge for the Cougars will be an extremely tough trip to Dixon on Wednesday, Feb. 8. The Rams are a quality team, especially in front of their home crowd and definitely not to be taken lightly.

Friday night's top scorers were Donlan 23, Belton 14, Wilson 13, Lealao 7, Perry 5, Irogebu and Nissen 4 each, Aibuedefe and Shelton-Mosely 3 each and Jennings 1.

[Editor's note: Tracey Donlan's son, Matt, plays for the Cougars]