With the varsity basketball team starting off the year well with a 4-0 record, they entered last week facing four strong opponents -- Montgomery Bell Academy, Father Ryan, FACS, and Houston.
The Owls began with the Big Red last Friday night, December 1.
MBA quickly gained control of the game as the Owls seemed somewhat disorganized. But at the 5:36 mark in the second quarter, Ferrakohn Hall hit a free throw to push the Owls ahead for good, 17-16. Despite poor first-half shooting (42.9%), the Owls were up, 24-21, at the break.
Having come out of the locker room with intensity, MUS dominated the second half, putting 30 points on the board while MBA lagged behind with 10. During the second stanza, MBA hit only 13.6% of its total field goals as the MUS zone defense confused the Big Red into 19 turnovers.
Hall led the squad with 14 points, while Elliott Cole added 11 points and 6 rebounds. Louis Amagliani also added 6 rebounds, and the Owls hit 13 of their 14 free throws in the second half to win, 54-31.
MUS then faced Father Ryan the next afternoon.
With the Fightin' Irish's pressure man defense, the Owls turned the ball over 23 times. However, MUS led the entire game, helped by a 15-5 run in the third quarter to widen the gap. Four of the Owls -- Cole, Kevin Gray, Taylor Reed, and Hall -- scored double-digit points, and MUS outrebounded the visitors, 34-18. The Owls shot 60.0% for the game to secure Coach Jerry Peters’ 900th career win, 65-49.
However, all news was not good coming out of the game as Cole, the Owls' leading scorer, fractured his wrist but still played the entire game.
Last Tuesday, MUS came up against First Assembly Christian School, one of the best Division II small schools in the state. The Owls led most of the hard-fought game as the Crusaders hit timely shots to stay close. But FACS had no answer for Hall, who dominated the middle with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Gray added 13 points, and Amagliani tallied 11 rebounds. MUS scored 32 points in the paint to the Crusaders’ 10. Down by three with little time left on the clock, FACS took a futile, last-second shot but missed as MUS won, 53-50.
Then last Friday, the Owls played their eighth-straight home contest of the year as they took on Houston.
MUS led much of the first half as Hall continued his good play, tallying 9 points.
But the Mustangs made a run early in the third quarter as they retook the lead, 26-24. However, that lead was short-lived as Reed's ensuing three-pointer gave MUS the lead for good as they held on for the 52-47 win.
Hall ended with 20 points on 7-9 shooting, and Amagliani added 11 points and 6 rebounds. Sophomore Robert Counce also contributed 3 points and 11 rebounds in the big win.
Now 8-0, the Owls prepare for their first road game of the season as they take on Bolton at 7:30 p.m. this Monday night.