Bobcats sweep Linn County tourney

By RICHARD HETTINGER
Boys were taller than Joe Roberts. There was other tall boys too but their team did not quite have the speed to keep up with the Bobcats.
The game starts very promising for the Bobcats as Cooley receives the opening tip from Bolton and easily out races the Jay Hawks for the first score of the game. A pass from Seba to J. Roberts for 2, Hadley a nice drive for 2 and Bolton scores a jumper from 10 feet. Cooley makes a lob pass to Bolton under basket for 2, Seba makes 2 points from 6 feet out and J. Roberts to Bolton for another 2. A length of the floor pass to Bolton, a backward pass from Cooley to J. Roberts, a steal and two jumpers by Cooley, Seba from 10 feet and two more easy shots from Bolton brings the score to 43-27 Drexel. This was a nice little streak by the Cats. A fake while in the air and then a pass to Seba by Cooley gets two more and Thomas makes his only attempted shot of the night converting from the three point area giving the Bobcats a commanding lead after three 49-31.
Cooley draws his fourth foul with 6 minutes left in the game and JayHawk Linn has cut the lead to 15. Seba drives the lane and is fouled, he makes both but the JayHawks have clawed their way back to within 10. Bolton makes 4 frees, Seba draws two more fouls converting 3 of 4 free throws, JayHawk Linn stays in the game with a three but the score is still in the Bobcat’s favor by 14 with 1:26 left in the game. Seba is fouled making both and another long pass to Bolton for an easy lay up. The JayHawks hit another 3 but Drexel finishes with a nice win 64-49.
Stats: Scoring Leaders; Bolton 24, Cooley 13, Seba 12 (8 of 10 from the line) and J. Roberts 8. Leading Rebounders; Seba and Bolton both with 8. Cooley had 9 assists while Russell, Seba and Moles each had 1.
As a team the shooting from the field was good making 22 of 44 for 50% and free throw percentage was also good at 68%.
“The boys did a better job this game getting out and pushing the ball for some quick transition points,” comments Coach Bolton. “As we improve we should be able to pick up the tempo more. This is a good tournament for us because it allows us to see other types of teams than we normally face.”
The Bobcats came up against a good inside big men team from Pleasanton of last Friday after the black out on Thursday. The Blue Jays get the tip and are quickly ahead with their big boys under the basket putting back some rebounds. With 4:18 left in the first, Drexel trailed 5 to 11. D. Roberts starts hitting from about 10 to 12 feet while Cooley, Thomas, and Hadley are also scoring bringing the first quarter to a close and also carrying a 4 point lead.
The second quarter finds the Bobcats playing a good strong defense and Seba gets into the action with 2 from the base line, then a steal drives the lane and a hand off to D. Roberts for another 2. Blue Jays hit a 3 and it’s Drexel 21 Blue Jays 20. Seba again drives the lane and feeds off to J. Roberts for 2 more. Cooley steals and drives for 2. Seba for the third time drives the lane and hands off to J. Roberts for 2 more and Bolton receives a lob pass from Cooley for an easy one. Half time score Bobcats 28, Blue Jays 24.
Seba and J. Roberts shoot 4 frees and make 3. Hadley drives the lane, converts the lay up, is fouled and makes free throw, Seba makes 2 more field goals, one from 18 feet and one from 5 and after three quarters Drexel is still holding on to a slight lead 39-36.
The fourth quarter begins with Cooley making a drop back 2 pointer while being fouled. He converts the free throw and the Bobcats lead is 4. Cooley drives the lane 3 more times making 2 field goals and converting 2 of 3 frees. J. Roberts gets a put back for two then Cooley makes a steal on inbounds pass is fouled and converts one free. Cooley fouled again and is successful in both attempts pushing the lead to eleven. The rest of the game turns out to be free throw practice for Drexel as they make 5 of 6. The final basket was by Moles and Drexel Bobcats win going away 62-47.
Stats: Scoring leaders; Cooley 20, Seba 12, Bolton 7, J. Roberts and D. Roberts 6 each with 6. Rebounds; J. Roberts 11, Bolton 6 and Cooley 5. Steals; Cooley 4 with Seba and Bolton getting 3 each. As a team the Bobcats shot a nice 50% from the field and 64% from the line.
Coach Bolton says, “The boys struggled a little in the first part of the game, but were able to put on a strong fourth quarter to come away with the victory. We set ourselves up to play for the championship and that is what we were after.”
Coming into the final game of the Linn County Tournament, Prairie View and Drexel boys both have 2 wins and no losses, so the winner will take home the trophy.
The tip from Bolton to start the game goes to Cooley who takes it to the glass, scores and is fouled thus completing the 3 point play and a 3-0 lead for the Cats. Good rebounding by our big three of Bolton, Seba and J. Roberts under the glass results in another trip to the line where Seba converts 1 of 2, then it’s the Cooley-Bolton Connection for 2. Seba stands his ground and the result is a charging foul against Brown of P.V. Cooley scores 2 points and another from the line and good hustle by the entire team on the offensive boards results in a 2 and a 3 from Seba bringing the score to Bobcats 16 and Buffalos 10 with 1:21 left in the first. Trevor makes 2 frees and the good defense and smart playing results in a 16-12 lead and only 3 fouls committed in the first quarter by the Bobcats.
In the second..
Read the complete story in the December 17th edition.
PHOTOS: Linn County Tournament Champs. CJ Bolton finds himself in a bit of a jam during the Prairie View Championship game last Saturday. Should we call time-out? Coach Bolton did just that to release his player from the trap. Photos by Richard Hettinger