SPRINGFIELD, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Kirkwood High boys’ basketball team met up with the Dickson County Cougars at Springfield High School for the region 7-4A championship game on Friday night, with the right to host a sectional game on Monday on the line.
The Cobras started hot, but a strong second half from the Cougars gave them a late lead. Kirkwood rallied, but couldn’t get the shots they needed to fall, as they lost 57-51. The Cobras will now travel to Whitehaven on Monday in an elimination game.
Right out the gate, the Cobras were able to build an 8-0 run, thanks to some early production out of Armani Smith who finished the game with 11 points. From that point forward, however, it was a back-and-forth contest with physical play inside the paint.
Kirkwood, at one point, led by ten but a late first-half run gave Dickson County a one-point advantage going into the halftime break.
Dickson County used their first half momentum going into the next half of play and eventually led by 10 with two and a half minutes remaining in the game. Kirkwood junior guard Linkoln Schwass looked to overcome the adversity though as he hit a three, blocked a shot at the rim, which led to yet another three and cut the lead to just four points all within 30 seconds.
Unfortunately for the Cobras, some clutch buckets from DJ Ham, who led all scorers with 16 points, iced the game for Dickson County, and Kirkwood finished as the region 7-4A runner up. Their season isn’t over, but now they have the tall task of traveling to Whitehaven and take one of the best teams in Tennessee.
“I’m just proud of our guys,” said Kirkwood head coach John Stigall. “They fought so hard. We picked the wrong day to not play very well offensively. We got good looks at the rim, we missed some easy ones, but we will take our chances again with those. We started five sophomores, and their guys have been in this game three years in a row.
“I still think we play harder than everybody, and we can beat anyone in the state,” said Stigall. “It was a tough game, but I’m still proud of them. Our goal is to win a state championship someday, and we have an opportunity to make a statement Monday. No Clarksville team has ever won a substate game in Memphis, why not us.”