Mountain Ridge defeated Raymond S. Kellis 53-44 at Raymond S Kellis High School on Friday night.

 

It was Kellis’s Senior Night and all five graduating seniors were on the court for tip-off.

 

“Those are five great guys, I truly love every single one of them.  They were the forefathers of my program.  They come out to play every night and do not quit,” said Kellis head coach Duncan Thomson.

 

Both defenses were locked in to begin the game as the two teams combined for 16 points in the first quarter.

 

Going into halftime Mountain Ridge lead Kellis 27-15, and both coaches had different messages for their players.

 

“During halftime, we just wanted to stay focused on the game plan, defensively not take any unnecessary risk, and force the other team to make shots,” Mountain Ridge coach Eli Lopez said.

 

“I thought that we were playing very lackluster, that we needed to set harder screens, and have more intensity in our play.  We were not bad defensively,” Thomson said.

 

Strong performances by Mountain Ridge’s seniors were a large part of their win.

 

“It feels good, we came in excited, had a game plan and executed it. The offense had some great chemistry tonight.  Everyone was getting open looks and finding holes in the defense,” said Mountain Ridge senior guard Tanner Ray.

 

The Mountain Lions also effectively executed the press defense which caused problems for the Cougars all game.

 

“Our defense overall was great but the press defense was really working tonight, our goal was to keep them out of their flow and rhythm,” Lopez said.

 

Mountain Ridge’s leading scorer was senior forward Jabari Sutherland, who had 15 points.

 

“The key to my success in the game was being focused and sound defensively, it all started with my defense,” Sutherland said.

 

The Cougars' leading scorer was senior guard Cody Crowther, he had 17 points in the game. 

 

“I just tried to find open looks, get in the paint and continue to move the ball,” Crowther said.

 

The Cougars got into foul trouble early and were unable to come back.  The team had 20 total fouls, 10 in the first half and 10 in the second half.

 

During the third quarter, Crowther got a bloody nose after being elbowed and was out for the rest of the quarter.

 

“It jumpstarted me, I got me some rest and came back in the game to score five straight points to start the fourth quarter,” Crowther said.

 

After missing a majority of the season, the injured seniors for Mountain Ridge were able to return to the court for Friday’s game.

 

“We finally had the team that I envisioned we would have to start the year,” Lopez said.

 

The Mountain Lions improved to 3-22 on the season and will travel to Sandra Day O’Connor (17-8) for their final game of the season Tuesday at 7 p.m.

 

The Cougars dropped to 2-23 and will face the Ironwood Eagles (13-10) at Ironwood to end their season at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.