Cougars defeat cross-town rival West 55-40

The Cougars beat rival Cherry Hill West on Saturday 55-40. The Cougars did not nearly play their best, but they did more than enough to get the win

The first quarter was very slow for both teams. East took the 9-7 lead by the end of the quarter, via two steals by Marc Schlessel ('12) and a basket as well as points from Chris Santo ('11).

The second quarter sped up a little bit. The rebounding of the Cougars in the first half was dominant. Jake Gurkin ('12) has nine rebounds by the end of the half, while Santo had 6. Santo's 9 first-half points also helped build the lead. However, Santo also reached his third foul with three minutes left in the half, meaning he had to be very cautious on defense for the rest of the game. The Cougars took the 22-16 lead into the locker room.

The third quarter was very much of the same low-scoring, slow-paced basketball we saw in the first half. The Cougars were up only 25-24 with a few minutes left as West made a scoring pus in the quarter. Then with two minutes left in the quarter, Schlessel hit a three-pointer to extend the lead to 28-24 which is how the score stood until the quarter ended.

The Cougars dominated the fourth quarter. Santo scored twelve points in the fourth, to the frustration of the West players, fans and coaches. West's players clear frustration parlayed into them fouling the Cougars multiple times in the quarter unintelligently, allowing the Cougars to build up their lead. Free throws late in the game iced the game for the Cougars as they finished off the 55-40 victory. As a team, the Cougars shot 20/21 from the free throw line.

On a negative note, Sam Rose ('11), the team's starting point guard was injured with a sprained ankle with three seconds left in the game. He is expected back for the playoffs.

Player of the Game: Santo. His 12 fourth-quarter points elevated the team to victory. He also added in 12 rebounds.

Key Stats

Santo-21 points, 12 rebounds

Schlessel-16 points, 3 steals

Gurkin-4 points, 13 rebounds

Melleby-6 points

Gold-6 points