The varsity basketball team has started off their 2006-07 season with solid play as they won their first four games against some formidable competition.
MUS began with an easy 88-30 win over Catholic as both the Owls’ offense and defense dominated the game. Elliott Cole led the squad with 22 points, while McCauley Williams added 15, Kevin Gray 10, and Taylor Reed 8. In fact, all MUS players contributed to the victory.
With a strong win over Catholic, the confident MUS Owls entered game one of the Turkey Shoot-Out over Thanksgiving break facing Collierville High School.
After a somewhat sloppy first half, the Owls were up five points at the intermission. But in the second half, MUS' shooting drastically improved as the Owls hit 66.7% of their three-pointers combined with a free-throw percentage of 75.9.
Cole again put up 22 points, and Louis Amagliani led the team in rebounds with 11 total. All Owls again aided the effort as they won going away. Throughout the second half, the Owls scored 48 points to Collierville’s 30 to post the 76-53 victory.
The next evening, the Owls' opponent, Germantown, looked to build off their victory over a talented Harding squad the night before.
After a slipshod first half in which MUS did not hit a three-point field goal and only made 25.9% of their total shots, they entered the locker room trailing 21-18 at the break.
But as they did against the Dragons, MUS played somewhat better in the second half as they briefly took a third-quarter lead. Yet Germantown regained control of the game and held a ten-point lead early in the fourth quarter. However, the Owls, and specifically Cole, finished the game on 15-5 run as Cole scored 13 of those 15. His three-pointer in the final five seconds sent the game into overtime.
In the extra period, the Owls dominated overtime, outscoring the Red Devils 11 to 3. With 10 lead changes overall, MUS outlasted the Red Devils to take the 58-50 win.
Cole led the Owls with 28 points and 9 rebounds for the game. Williams hustled for the Owls, scoring 10 points and 7 rebounds.
With three wins and no losses, the Owls came out hard against the Kingsbury Falcons last Tuesday night. In their zone defense, the Owls forced 22 turnovers.
Despite some sloppiness, MUS still stayed undefeated with the 55-51 victory as Cole and Ferrakohn Hall finished with double-figure point totals. Among the hustling Owls, Amagliani and Williams led the team in rebounds. The Owls led throughout much of the game and ultimately wore out the athletic Falcons.
MUS will look to build on the streak as they take on several Nashville schools this weekend. They tip with MBA at 7:30 p.m. this Friday night, and they face Father Ryan the next day at 2:30 p.m.