By By Larry Bonds, Special to the Advance
The E.A. Cougars squared off with the Pickens Academy Pirates for the boy's AISA 2A State Championship match and quickly fell behind 7-1 at the start of the game. The Cougars would roar back to tie the game at 10 behind Robert Hardy's 6 points to end the first quarter. Pickens held a 29-25 lead at the half. E.A.'s defensive pressure would hold the Pirates to 6 points in the third quarter and heading into the fourth, the Cougars trailed by 1, 35-34. With 25 ticks left on the clock and the score tied at 50 all, Matt Amerson put back an offensive rebound giving E.A. a 52-50 lead. With only 6 seconds left, he would seal the victory with 2 clutch free throws and for Coach Prewett his second State Championship in less than 2 hours.
All year long, the Cougars have had different players step up at different times but all giving it everything they had.
Senior center Robert Hardy (10 rebounds, 15 points, I steal, I deflection) whose presence on the floor was felt both offensively and defensively during both Final Four games would be named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. %
Senior Zack Smith recorded 5 boards, I blocked shot 2 steals, 7 deflections, and 9 points would be named to the Final Four All-tournament team. Senior point guard Chris Moore would dish out 4 assists, grab 3 rebounds, and 3 steals and have 8 deflections. Senior Steven Shirley would hit a big 3 -pointer in the second quarter to help his team stay close in the first half Junior Zack Thomas added 9 points (witA35 points in Thursday night's game), 6 rebounds, 2 assists, I steal, and 4 defensive deflections. He would also be named to the Final Four All-tournament Team. Junior Matt Amerson added 2 rebounds and 7 points, with the last 4 being the biggest of his career. Junior Josh Montel had 3 rebounds, 2 assists, I steal and 6 points, and made his presence felt on the court with a team leading 15 defensive deflections. Junior Buckie Dawson's 3 rebounds and junior Billy McCann's 2 (13 points in Thursday night's performance) would round out Friday night's stat sheet. Sophomores Matt Ash and Bruce Smith, and freshman Cody Norton round out Escambia Academy's Championship team.