The Grace Christian Cougars came into their gym Monday night looking for a win against the Emmanuel Warriors. The game began neck-and-neck, but the Cougars began to slip in the second quarter and let the Warriors run away with the lead and take the win 79-69.
“I didn’t feel like we played with a lot of energy,” Cougars head coach Tommy Yancey said as he sat on the bench after the game, his head low in disappointment after the loss.
“I felt like we were rattled by the situation. They came out and played and got a lead and I felt like we were rattled for the remainder of the game.”
The Cougars were failing to hit anything from outside the line the whole night, going 0-17 for three-pointers.
Emmanuel was fast and aggressive, taking advantage of turnovers and driving the ball to the goal.
The Cougars gave up 16 points on missed free throws.
“We missed 16 free throws tonight in a game in which we lose by nine,” Yancey said. “There’s your game right there.”
Jack McRae led the Cougars for the night, scoring 34 points, eight rebounds, four steals and four blocks. The game was paused in the first quarter to honor McRae for his one- thousandth career point scored.
Disappointed with the loss, McRae said the only thing that could have made the night better was a victory against Emmanuel.
Garvis Kelly was slightly off, scoring only 16 points. He also had four rebounds and two steals.
No other cougars were in double figures against the Warriors. Brent Noble, Sam McRae and Josiah Austinson all had five point each. Noble and Sam both had two steals, as well.
Nate Walton was battling a stomach virus, but managed to muster four points and two rebounds for the night.
Yancey said it was one of the first times the Cougars have been behind early in a game and the team didn’t respond well.
“I just don’t feel like we made any shots, any shots at the foul line,” he said. “You just got to put that on the guys. We had some open looks. I also felt like we took a lot of rushed ones because we weren’t really letting the offense work as team, we had guys out there just trying to do it by themselves.”
The numbers were low for the Cougars, and Yancey emphasized the things the team would be working on moving forward.
“You’ve got to get more mentally tough,” Yancey said. “We have to be more sound in the half-court defensively. We have to play harder, got to play smarter, and I’ve got to do a better job coaching.”