MORGAN COUNTY
After starting the season 2-0, the Morgan County boys’ basketball team faced some adversity in the next three games, losing to Mill Creek, Lambert, and Lanier, which are all schools in higher classes.
The ‘Dogs defeated Oconee County and Lanier Christian before losing their next three games. The Mill Creek (62-60) and Lambert (67-63) losses were close, but Lanier defeated them easily (69-24).
Morgan County head coach Cody Anderson said the loss to Lanier last Tuesday was a “wake-up call.”
“We learned more about our team in losses than we probably learned in our two wins over Oconee and Lakeview. Then we had a wake-up call at Lanier,” Anderson said. “It was one of those perfect storms where we were not as urgent or locked in as we needed to be, which starts with me. I didn’t have our team ready to play. But credit to Lanier, a larger school than us.”
Anderson wanted to “challenge” his young team, which has only three seniors, early on in the season. He wanted to see how his guys would react when facing tougher competition from bigger schools.
“I wanted to challenge these guys early in the non-conference (part of the schedule). So, I was slightly worried about how we would handle that beatdown,” Anderson added. “We got our tails kicked.”
Indeed, Lanier dominated from start to finish, with Morgan County making too many early mistakes. Those mishaps led the Class 7A Longhorns to jump out to a huge lead at the half.
However, Morgan County handled the adversity well, bouncing back with a hard-fought victory over Greene County this past Friday.
The Dogs narrowly defeated the Tigers 43-39 at home. Sophomore Zeki Locus had an impressive performance, with a team-high nine points and 14 rebounds. Senior JaMauri Evans and junior Jaylen Elder contributed eight points each.
“I was concerned, but credit to our kids. They answered the bell,” Anderson said. “It’s always nice to get a rivalry win. Anytime you can beat Greene (County), it’s nice as well. We’re very fortunate to have won the game. Our kids made plays down the stretch and closed out a close game.”
Morgan County finally has its full roster together after football season ended. The Dogs are now trying to build chemistry in the early stages of the season so they can be at their best for region play.
According to Anderson, he has seen a few guys step up as leaders – both on and off the court. The second-year head coach didn’t name anyone specifically but said the team is coming together at the right time. Now, it’s just about putting all the pieces in place and transitioning that to the court.
“It’s interesting. A lot of the load early on had to be carried by senior transfer Ryan Moore and sophomore Jacoby Simmons,” Anderson said. “We’ve had a lot of fluctuation in our available lineups each night. Some by injury and some by self-inflicted (mistakes). The character does matter, but those first couple weeks were (tough). But with football guys coming back, and us learning from those mistakes, we’re finally whole. That’s what has been exciting the past few weeks.”