The Southmont boys came out for their season opener and were ready from the get go. Avery Saunders led the Mounties with 13 points in the opening quarter as the Mounties took a 19-8 lead. The Cougars would use the next two quarters to slowly creep back into the game, but Southmont led from wire to wire and took home a 55-49 win in their season opener.
The Cougars got as close as four points, but the Mounties would have an answer every time to extend their lead.
“We knew that this would be a competitive game and it was,” Southmont coach Jake Turner said. “Our experience showed up tonight with Carson (Chadd), Avery, and Logan (Oppy) leading the way. They’re going to have to lead not only with their leadership but in the scoring column as well. We need them to be consistent from day to day in order to be successful. We started the game exactly how we wanted with Avery dominating but you can never feel too comfortable with any lead and they made a run but we were able to hold them off. ”
Along with his game-high 23 points, Saunders grabbed eight rebounds as well. Carson Chadd had a double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds and Logan Oppy added in 12. Fellow senior E.J. Brewer added in six for the Mounties in the win.
“I was pretty happy with the way we played defense tonight,” Turner added. “We made them hit some tough shots and rebounded the ball very well. I told our guys to stay calm tonight because the environment was going to be pretty electric. We played a little too fast in the fourth quarter and that led to some turnovers and that will be something that we look to clean up.”
Aaron Pickel led the Cougars with 15 points in the loss and Ellis Lyons added in 14.
Southmont (1-0) will travel to Sheridan Saturday which will be the season opener for the Blackhawks. After that the Mounties will get an early county matchup with North Montgomery (0-1) next Friday.
