Cougars Move to 8-0 as they defeat Cherokee 56-44

After coming off a huge win against 7th ranked Lenape, the Cougars moved to 8-0 with a convincing 56-44 win over conference rival Cherokee Thursday afternoon. The game seemed much closer than it should've been, with the Cougars running away with it in the end.

The first half was a close one, as the Cougars led 11-10 after the first quarter. It seemed as though this would be another one of those games where it would be close until the fourth quarter, and then hopefully East would pull away in the end. The half ended with the Cougars leading 29-24, as Marc Schlessel ('12) and Jake Gurkin ('12) led the team with 8 points apiece, while Jesse Gold ('12) chipped in with 6 points in the half.

Both teams struggled to get any offense going in the third quarter, as East led 39-34. The fourth quarter would be an interesting one, as big man Jake Gurkin fouled out on a questionable referee decision with 6:41 left in the game. That prompted coach David Allen to bring in junior Andrew Brown for a big man presence on defense. With the Cougars leading 46-42 with 1:32 to go in the game, freshman Jake Silpe nailed a huge 3 to make it 49-42, and virtually put the game out of reach. Silpe ('15) scored 7 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter alone, with East putting Cheroke away 56-44.

Stats:

CHE: 14/17 from the FT line

Hank Davis : 3 points

Jesse Gold : 7 points

Jake Gurkin : 9 points

Garry Hettinger : 3 points

Marc Schlessel : 21 points

Jake Silpe : 13 points, 4 assists, 4 steals