Cougars Defense Comes up Big in Win over Reese 71-62

Heroes abound for the comeback Cougars

February 6, 2010       1 Comments
By: Kevin Kula

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All Saints Cougars have the B E S T fans! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

All Saints fans got to see a regular spectacle at their home gym as their Cougars took on the Reese Rockets. All Saints head coach Mike Showalter particularly enjoyed the come-from-behind win on the eve of his 50th birthday. Whether it was Pijaszek's three point mastery, the Villano twins defensive prowess, or the surprising effort put forth by Kevin Sweircz and Garrett Bowker in the fourth, every All Saints fan agrees that heroics turned the game around for the Cougars.

Cougar Adam Pijaszek shoots over the defenders for 3 points! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

Soaring to an early 13-2 point lead, the Cougars fed off three consecutive 3-pointers from Adam Pijaszek #20 to force the Rockets into an early timeout. The Rockets answered, however; in the form of Josh Pickell #2, who scored 11 points to get Reese back into the game. The Cougar defensemen tried desperately to stifle the red-hot Rockets offense, but the Rockets were able to fight back to a 19-18 lead over the Cougars at the end of the first quarter.

(Above) Thomas Villano added 14 points to the Cougar total. (Below) Justin Villano with 2 of his 12 points!

(MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

The Cougars rallied late in the second to retake their lead; but it was short-lived. The Rockets fired back with two 3-pointers from Adam Lefler #3 to reclaim their lead seconds later. The Cougars played a good second quarter but couldn't generate any pressing offense. Pijaszek scored 7 points in the quarter and only three other Cougars chipped in on the scoring. The Cougars needed to step up their game in the second half, or Reese was sure to run away with the game.

Team gets ready for the 2nd half. (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

(Above) The lovely ASC Dance Team performed at half time. (Below) The Pom Squad had an uplifting Pom routine!

(MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

After rousing performances from both the All Saints Dance team and All Saints pom pom squad it was back to work for the Cougars. Down 36-34, the Cougars needed a strong second half offensively, and an even better half defensively, if they wanted to down the Rockets. The Cougars knotted it up 38-38 rather quickly, but the Rockets battled back - five separate Rockets tacked 17 combined points onto their score. The Cougars fell behind 53-47 as the Rockets cruised into the decisive fourth quarter.

Adam 'Magic Hands' Pijaszek adds to his 27pt total! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

Despite the six point deficit facing them on the board, the All Saints Cougars were un-phased as they confidently began the fourth quarter. With help from All Saints super fan Quincy Brissette and the rest of the fans, the Cougars were able to quickly rack up six points to tie the Rockets again 53-53.

Quincy Brissette gets the crowd FIRED UP! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

Seconds later, Adam Pijaszek restored Cougar supremacy with his miracle shot down low. Crashing the net, Adam was smashed between two Rocket defenders under the basket - but that wasn't enough to stop the All Saints superstar. While falling, Adam shot the ball in the air out of desperation. The ball fell perfectly in the net to give the Cougars the lead back. To shouts of "automatic!" from the crowd, Pijaszek and the Cougars were back on top.

. . . and the shot goes IN! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

Two more 3-pointers from Pijaszek seconds later, and 8 points from Thomas Villano were enough to provide for a huge 71-62 All Saints victory. Behind the scoring, defense played a huge roll in the comeback victory for the Cougars. Pickell scored 18 points for the Rockets in the first half. He scored 4, two in each quarter, in the second half. "Garret (Bowker) and Kevin (Sweircz) did a great job guarding Pickell in the second half" Coach Showalter said.

All Saints Head Coach Mike Showalter celebrates with a victory! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

Great D from Bowker helped - but so did his offensive play! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

All Saints' top scorer Adam Pijaszek, who scored 27 points, echoed Showalter's praise saying "they did a good job switching to cover him." When asked about his most recent stellar performance, Pijaszek said "the hoop looked three times as big tonight."

The hoop was 3 times bigger tonight for Adam Pijaszek! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

All Saints 'Super Fans' Kaylee, Amanda & Whitney cheered on their Cougars! (MyBayCity Photo by Kevin Kula)

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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

scarab Says:       On February 08, 2010 at 11:34 AM What a nice article. I am an All Saints parent. It very nice to read about All Saints and see the familar faces. Great photos and lots of them. Keep up the good work! regards, Bill Lutz

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Kevin Kula
Kevin is a student at All Saints More from Kevin Kula

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