The Columbia boys basketball team fell behind early on this afternoon at Columbia High School against Seton Hall Prep, and were never able to recover. Outscored 20-10 in the second quarter, the Cougars were down 15 at the half and the Pirates quelled multiple Columbia runs to hold on for a 65-51 win.
"We had a bad stretch and we seem to always have a bad stretch or quarter," said Columbia boys head coach Jerry Hill. "From the end of the first quarter into the second quarter, we went through that cycle again of turnovers and missing shots. We got behind by 14 or 15 and it's tough to comeback, especially against a team that good."
Determining the reason for today's loss may be as simple as looking at the refs and the amount of fouls called against Columbia. The Cougars sent SHP to the line 27 times, with the Pirates converting 22 of those attempts. Columbia, on the other hand, made eight free throws in 10 trips to the line.
"I always go into the game with good faith, I have to believe that [the refs] are out there doing their best," Hill said. "I'm not going to use that as an excuse.
It also didn't help that the Cougars scored just 20 first half points.
"I thought we got stagnant on offense, stopped moving and turned the ball over," Hill said of his team's second quarter play. "I thought we went a little soft on offense. In the second half we started going to the basket and we were more successful."
SHP was led by Sterling Gibbs with 27 points and John Capria, who scored 21. The only Cougar player to score in double figures was Jamar Chavis with 10 points. Justin Martin chipped in eight, as did Austin Little.
In the second half, the Cougars played relatively even with the Pirates, but couldn't come up with enough stops to make a real comeback threat. They fell down by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter and got within 10 points on three different occasions in the fourth, but SHP did not allow any significant runs.
"I was very proud of our effort in the second half. We just said at half time that we're going to go after it and whatever happens, happens," Hill said.
The Cougars have fallen into a bit of a slump, winning just once in their last four contests. It seems that their magic number is 50. In games in which Columbia opponents scored 50 or more points, the Cougars are 1-4 and are unbeaten in contests where the opposition falls below 50.
Columbia is heading into the teeth of their conference schedule where they will face five Super Essex American Division foes over the next seven games. Three of those matches will be on the road. Seton Hall Prep improved to 6-1 overall.
