CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) –The Clarksville Academy Cougars traveled to Ezell Harding Christian for the Division II-A Middle District Championship against the Goodpasture Cougars, who are ranked first in their class in the state. The Cougars gave it their all, but couldn’t get stops down the stretch, and Goodpasture won the “Battle of the Cougars” 65-52.
Clarksville Academy got in a hole early in the first quarter, as Goodpasture went on a 10-0 midway through the first, highlighted by some buckets from Tennessee State signee and District MVP Jayden Jones. However, Clarksville Academy battled back, and were only down four at the half, thanks to some timely threes from Trae Rideau, who led all scorers with 21.
“Trae is one of the best players in the state; it’s a travesty he wasn’t a finalist for Mr. Basketball,” said Academy interim head coach Sean Jones. “Goodpasture is a great team; they are number one for a reason. Our guys battled, especially on a back-to-back.”
In the second half, Goodpasture went on a few small runs, nothing eye-opening, but it slowly built to a 14-point lead with four minutes remaining. The lead then never dipped below ten, and Goodpasture earned their second straight district championship. Despite the loss, the Cougars look to rebound at home against Webb School-Bell Buckle on Wednesday in a win-or-go-home region matchup.
“Really proud of our guys, and really excited to continue to play with this group. We have a great challenge on Wednesday, and we’re going to look to push this thing as far as we can go,” Jones told Clarksville Now.