BOYS BASKETBALL: Chesapeake Press Swarms Northeast

The Chesapeake Cougars utilized a dominating press to force numerous turnovers as they cruised to a 78-33 home victory Friday night over rival .

The Cougars started strong, putting to use their fast-paced press to force six Eagle turnovers in the game’s opening minutes.

“We are trying to press everyone this year, just to try and push the tempo of the game, and it looked good tonight,” Chesapeake coach Marlon Bailey said.

Northeast had trouble securing loose balls on rebounds and looked frazzled at times trying to get the ball up the court.

With a few minutes to go in the second quarter, the Eagles turned the ball over five times on six possessions, resulting in nine points for the Cougars as they increased their lead to 30-16 to end the half.

“We are very young and inexperienced,” Northeast coach Roger O’Dea said. “We knew they were going to run that press, and we practiced for it. We just weren’t getting the ball in the right spots on offense, and when the defenders came on we kind of panicked.”

Inexperience, coupled with injuries to some key players, plagued the Eagles throughout the game as Chesapeake continued to push the tempo in the second half.

The Cougars were led by guard Aaron Terry’s 23-point performance on offense, as well as his consistent contributions on defense. He forced several Eagle turnovers in transition.

“We have been working hard in practice all week to force turnovers and score more points defensively,” Terry said. “We just kept our cool, despite the rivalry, and played to our level.”