By Staff
Adam Prestridge
Escambia Academy's Zack Thomas single-handedly led the Cougars to a 77-41 win over Jackson Academy last Friday night.
Thomas, a 6-foot, senior forward, outscored Jackson's entire team with a school-record 46 points, including an impressive nine three-pointers.
"I was proud of Zack," EA's first-year head coach Jason Allen said. "I was proud of him because he didn't play selfishly. Our guys realize he's a big part of our offensive game plan and they do a good job getting him the ball when he's open."
Thomas is currently averaging 27.5 points per game. He recently surpassed 1,000 career points.
Jackson kept the game close throughout the first half, but Escambia's tenacious defense stepped it up in the second half as they nearly doubled up the visitors.
"We played well," Allen said. "We're getting better each game. We put our main emphasis on getting better on defense and I feel we took some big steps. We held our opponent to 41, so I felt we played pretty well defensively."
Allen pointed out that he was especially proud of the Cougars' defensive effort in the absence of senior center Buckie Dawson, who at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, is a force under the basket.
Junior forward Jeffery Taylor was Escambia's second-leading scorer with 12 points followed by senior point guard Josh Montel, who finished with eight points.
Escambia Academy will travel to Grove Hill Friday night to take on Clarke Prep. Allen said the Cougars will have to play fundamentally sound to pickup the win.
"We beat them the first time we played them, but we'll have defend and rebound to win again," Allen said. "We know we'll be able to do that, but we're not sure we can score. We try to make our offense off our defensive play."
Tip off is at 7:30 p.m.
Escambia 62
Jackson 22
Escambia's Lady Cougars also easily disposed of the Jackson as they ran away with a 62-22 victory led by senior point guard Meagan Jackson's 21 points. She also finished with four rebounds and four steals.
"We played well," head coach Heath Gibson said. "We've been having slow starts, but we really pickup the tempo, got off to a good start and never looked back."
Junior forward Lori Bonds was the Lady Cougars' second-leading scorer with 15 points, five rebounds and four steals.
The Lady Cougars will travel to take on Clarke Prep Friday night at 6 p.m.