LCA Cougars Optimistic Heading Into Sectional
February 27, 2017 at 4:55 p.m.
By Mark [email protected]
The 8-15 record the Cougars take into the 1A Bethany Christian Sectional isn’t exactly stellar, but it’s better than last year’s four-win season and way, way better than the single-victory season of 2014-15. The win total is LCA’s best since the 2009-10 team won nine games.
Third-year coach Chris Hohm has needed the patience of Job to keep things moving in the right direction at LCA.
“Things are definitely trending up. We've seen a lot of growth in our players from a mental toughness aspect, as well as improved physical skills which have translated to more competitive games,” he said. “A lot of it is patience as we are now playing juniors and sophomores who have seen a lot of time as freshmen and are coming into their own a bit more.
“The culture of our team has really improved and is a place where guys are looking to improve and encourage each other daily. While the improvement may be slower than some want, we feel as though we are steadily improving each day. It's a great place to learn the game of basketball and grow in our friendships together. Winning and losing are part of why we play, but we know that following Christ and playing the right way are more important, so we strive to keep that focus as we practice and compete.”
Junior Josh McDaniel paces the Cougars on the scoreboard, averaging better than 16 points a game. Sophomore Landon Twombly gets better than 10 points a contest, with Jake Harmon and Eli Raymond combining for another 14 points a game.
The Cougars are balanced on the boards as well; five players pull down at least 3.3 rebounds a contest.
But the thing about the Cougars is the adversity they’ve been through together.
“These guys love each other. It's been a joy to coach this team, as they have each other's back and are encouraging daily to each other,”?Hohm said. “One of them said that we have made the transition from being guys who wanted to play better than their teammates to guys who want to play well and have their teammates play well.”
The Cougars, still in search of its first sectional title since joining the IHSAA in 2008-09, have a bye in the first round, and will play at 6 p.m. Friday against either Fort Wayne Blackhawk or Elkhart Christian.
Hohm said he sees the bye as a double-edged sword.
“Anytime you get a bye, you are one game closer to the sectional final, but in this case, it kind of hurts us,” he said. “We play the winner of a game between the sectional champion the last few years and a team that has beaten us by 20-plus points the last several times we‘ve played them. Either one will be a tough matchup.
“For us to win our first sectional game, we are going to need everyone to play at their peak level. Our defense will have to step up and force our opponent to shoot well from outside, and our rebounding will have to be there.
“On offense, we will need to handle defensive pressure and get shots. We've had a pretty good shooting percentage this year, even in our losses, we just haven't gotten enough shots.”
With a win Friday, the Cougars would play in the title game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The 8-15 record the Cougars take into the 1A Bethany Christian Sectional isn’t exactly stellar, but it’s better than last year’s four-win season and way, way better than the single-victory season of 2014-15. The win total is LCA’s best since the 2009-10 team won nine games.
Third-year coach Chris Hohm has needed the patience of Job to keep things moving in the right direction at LCA.
“Things are definitely trending up. We've seen a lot of growth in our players from a mental toughness aspect, as well as improved physical skills which have translated to more competitive games,” he said. “A lot of it is patience as we are now playing juniors and sophomores who have seen a lot of time as freshmen and are coming into their own a bit more.
“The culture of our team has really improved and is a place where guys are looking to improve and encourage each other daily. While the improvement may be slower than some want, we feel as though we are steadily improving each day. It's a great place to learn the game of basketball and grow in our friendships together. Winning and losing are part of why we play, but we know that following Christ and playing the right way are more important, so we strive to keep that focus as we practice and compete.”
Junior Josh McDaniel paces the Cougars on the scoreboard, averaging better than 16 points a game. Sophomore Landon Twombly gets better than 10 points a contest, with Jake Harmon and Eli Raymond combining for another 14 points a game.
The Cougars are balanced on the boards as well; five players pull down at least 3.3 rebounds a contest.
But the thing about the Cougars is the adversity they’ve been through together.
“These guys love each other. It's been a joy to coach this team, as they have each other's back and are encouraging daily to each other,”?Hohm said. “One of them said that we have made the transition from being guys who wanted to play better than their teammates to guys who want to play well and have their teammates play well.”
The Cougars, still in search of its first sectional title since joining the IHSAA in 2008-09, have a bye in the first round, and will play at 6 p.m. Friday against either Fort Wayne Blackhawk or Elkhart Christian.
Hohm said he sees the bye as a double-edged sword.
“Anytime you get a bye, you are one game closer to the sectional final, but in this case, it kind of hurts us,” he said. “We play the winner of a game between the sectional champion the last few years and a team that has beaten us by 20-plus points the last several times we‘ve played them. Either one will be a tough matchup.
“For us to win our first sectional game, we are going to need everyone to play at their peak level. Our defense will have to step up and force our opponent to shoot well from outside, and our rebounding will have to be there.
“On offense, we will need to handle defensive pressure and get shots. We've had a pretty good shooting percentage this year, even in our losses, we just haven't gotten enough shots.”
With a win Friday, the Cougars would play in the title game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
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