Morgan County boys’ basketball has encountered mixed results to start its 2024-25 season.
Entering this week, the Dogs were 1-2 overall, with a recent loss to rival Putnam County, but coach Cody Anderson knows his team is young and still learning to play together.
Morgan’s youth showed against Putnam, especially in the second half. The game was tied 25-25 at the break, but the Dogs were outscored 40-20 by the War Eagles in the first half. They turned the ball over, leading to points on the other end, and were outhustled in the final 16 minutes of play.
Anderson acknowledged Putnam provided a tough test for his team.
“I’ve got a tremendous amount of respect for Coach [LaPatrick] Marshall [at Putnam County] and how he runs his program,” Anderson said. “We knew going in that they were very, very talented, and shot the ball well. They also have good length and hadn’t really been tested, but they were every bit of what I thought they could be.”
Anderson added that Morgan was missing a few of its players for various reasons, so a lot of younger guys had to play. Still, he didn’t make any excuses.
In the loss, sophomore Rydell Lundy led the scoring for the Dogs with 11 points, followed by senior Qway Smith with eight. Freshman Dreylon Brown added seven points off the bench.
Anderson has had to rely on his younger guys to help carry the team through the first few games. He saw them step up as Morgan went on a 19-6 run to end the first half against Putnam.
“Putnam brought the punch to us [in the first quarter], and to our group’s credit, we have a few injuries and are playing a lot of young guys, which provides great experience. But I thought they had a great response in the second quarter,” Anderson said. “I think it was a 19-6 run to close out the half, so I’m very proud of that.”
Union Grove topped Morgan County 63-61 in a thriller during the season opener. Junior Zeki Locus scored a team-high 15 points for the Dogs, and freshman Garrett Ward added 10 in the close loss.
The Dogs picked up their first win on Nov. 19 by defeating Oconee County 59-49 on the road. Three players scored double digits, but junior Jacoby Simmons led with 15 points. Smith, Locus, and junior Jamir Pittman also significantly contributed against the Warriors.
Anderson likes how he can get scoring from several different players on any given night. However, he wants his team to be a finished product by the time region play rolls around in January. They’re also waiting on a few players to join the team after the football season ends.
Anderson looks forward to seeing how his team grows in the coming months. He and his players want to reach the postseason this year.
“We’ve got a lot of guys [who can contribute], especially when the football players join us,” Anderson said. “We’ll have 11, 12 to 13 guys who can contribute on any given night.”