The Bainbridge Bearcats stepped onto their court Friday night feeling good as ever, and it showed in their 60-38 victory of the Lee County Trojans.
The win improves the Bearcats’ record to 10-6, holding down their home record 5-3. The Trojans have shown signs of struggling on the road, holding a 1-4 away record and a 7-8 season record.
“We win this one and it puts us right back into fighting for the top two spots,” Bearcats coach Rickey McCullough said after the game. He was smiling and pleased with his players’ performance against the Trojans. “We’re coming together as a team.”
According to McCullough, now is the time for the Bearcats to start playing well. Every win counts, and the Bearcats took that to heart Friday as they gave one of their top defensive performances.
“I think it seems like we hang our hat on defense,” McCullough said. “Our zone looked good tonight. We had two really good days of practice and I felt really good about that.”
Sophomore guard Tyree Crump had one of his best nights this season, pouring in 27 points for the Bearcats and nailing four three-pointers, each one hitting nothing but net.
“My shots were good, and we went to the free throw line well,” Crump said. “I was just in my zone tonight.”
Travon Shaw added 14 points to the board, followed by senior guard Mike Jones with eight points.
The Bearcats matched Lee County in the first quarter 7-7, and then headed to the locker room at halftime down 22-21. The third quarter saw the team communicating well and executing plays. They put 21 points into the basket, then closed out in the final quarter with 18 points.
McCullough was able to pull a lot of his younger players off the bench and give them a chance to score.
“We have good depth and young depth, and that’s gong to pay off later,” McCullough said.
The Bearcats travel to play the Hardaway Golden Hawks Saturday.