CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Rossville Christian Wolves traveled to Clarksville Academy for a matchup with the Cougars in the Clarksville Academy Basketball Classic on Monday. The contest needed overtime to decide a winner, and a game winner from guard Seth Williams with seven seconds left gave the Wolves a narrow two-point win, 62-60.
In the first half, both teams employed a fast-paced, full-court press style of basketball. The first half was the JaRohn Johnson show, with the Cougars forward scoring 17 points in the first 16 minutes alone, giving the Cougars a six-point lead headed into the halftime break.
“Johnson is ultra talented; he kept us in this contest,” said Cougars head coach Sean Jones. “He had 28 tonight, and I feel like he could’ve had more. I’m glad that he’s a part of our program, and I think the best part of his season is still coming.”
Two quick third-quarter threes from guard Seth Williams erased the halftime lead, and the second half began a back-and-forth classic. Rossville entered the third quarter up two, and either led or were tied for most of the fourth, until a clutch basket from guard Marcell Jackson, who ended the night with 16 points, gave the Cougars their first lead of the fourth with a minute remaining. Rossville guard Dallas Freeman tied the game back up on the next possession, and a heavily contested shot with a questionable no-call did not fall for the Cougars, so we headed to overtime.
| MORE: Clarksville Academy girls celebrate Christmas with unwrapping of Northeast | PHOTOS
Academy guard CJ Colbert drained a three to start the overtime period, before the Wolves responded with a three of their own. After the two teams traded buckets again, the game was tied with 30 seconds left as the Wolves took the ball up the floor. With seven seconds left, Williams drained a fadeaway jumper to give Rossville the lead. Academy took the ball up the floor and tried to get a good look from three for the win, but couldn’t get the shot off in time, and the Wolves stole a victory late on Procter Court.
“Credit to Rossville, they defended well, and were in attack mode offensively,” said Jones. “We just couldn’t get the stops that we needed to down the stretch. What I discussed with my team is how you will respond to this adversity. There’s a very easy way to deal with this, which is to feel sorry for yourself, or you can come back and compete at a high level. We’ve yet to reach how good we’re going to be. If you’re playing your best basketball in December, you’ll be disappointed in February.”
| SPORTS REPORT: Sign up for the new weekly Clarksville sports newsletter