Despite a valiant home effort by the Grace Christian Academy Cougars, the Maclay School Marauders ran off with the ball Thursday night for a 54-39 win.
The loss puts the Cougars at 8-5 for the season.
Noah Thomas poured in 12 points to lead the Cougars, with Jack McRae right behind him at 10 points, followed by his brother, Sam, with eight.
The game’s speed was fast for the Cougars, and Maclay was able to control the court with rebounds, steals and blocked shots.
By the end of the first quarter, the score was close at 14-8 with the Marauders holding the lead. At halftime, the game was still close with the score at 24-19, Maclay out front.
The third quarter saw Sam and Thomas each hitting a 3-pointer apiece, but the Marauders added 17 points to the board to put them up 41-28. Sam hit another 3-pointer in the four pointer and McRae was able to push in three field goals, but Maclay continued to dominate the floor and add 13 points of their own to the score.
The Cougars next game is Tuesday, Jan. 13, against Southwest Georgia Academy at Damascus. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m.