Cougars prepare for region tournament

Published 4:50 pm Thursday, February 4, 2010

With a Tuesday night win over Northside Methodist Academy, the Crenshaw Christian Cougars wrapped up their second straight home-court undefeated season and moved their final regular season record to 23-2 overall.

The Cougars have won 24 straight on their home floor over the past two seasons.

However, last week’s win over Edgewood might have been a bigger game.

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CCA was in a three-way tie with Edgewood and Evangel, but that win, along with a subsequent win over Lakeside, gave the Cougars a 10-2 region record and a region title.

In the win over Edgewood, Jake Hataway posted 23 points, and both Darren Foster and Sebastian Deburchgraeve added 14. Jelle Vermeyen also broke into double figures with 11 points.

The Cougars continued to roll with a 65-47 win over Lakeside, a 67-37 trashing of Pike Liberal Arts, and a 54-14 beating of Enterprise Prep.

In the final home game against Northside Methodist, Hataway went off for 29 points and Vermeyen added 16.

Next up, the Cougars will travel to Faulkner University in Montgomery for the region tournament.

Due to their No. 1 seed, CCA won’t play until Friday, where they’ll face the winner of Autauga and Springwood.

“The team has won 17 straight games, and I feel like it’s due to great defense, team chemistry and having everyone healthy,” said head coach Michael Malpass. “Those are the three things that have turned it around. This has been a fun team to coach, and we’re really going to miss these seniors and what they’ve given.”

The Cougars’ seniors include Darren Foster, Jake Hataway, Sebastian Deburchgraeve, Mac Blake, Nate Palmer and Jelle Vermeyen, who are all weighing their collegiate options.

The CCA girls will face Springwood at Faulkner University at noon on Thursday in the first round of the region tournament.

With a state tournament berth on the line, that game is a critical one for the Lady Cougars.