The 7th grade Cougars played the first and second round games of the city tournament on Wednesday and Thursday. The first game was against Hickory Hills at their new middle school. The Cougars were licking their chops at the opportunity of handing the Spartans a defeat in their first tournament game in their new gym. The game was a very physical contest with both teams picking up fouls throughout. The Spartans tried to press the Cougars like they had in the first meeting but did not have the same success. Carver through much practice was able to beat the press and found themselves down by only five at the half by a score of 13-8. The third quarter was not kind to the Cougars, who had several players in foul trouble, including Jake Brown. Jake had been doing a great job of rebounding but it seemed every time he leaned forward he picked up another foul. Carver was down 24-12 but as always they mustered a comeback, hitting some huge shots, including two treys from Kendrick Price and one from Brant Jones. Hunter Steinmetz and Jake Thompson were like thieves in the night, combining for a total of thirteen steals. Team defense and full-court pressure allowed Carver to push the game to the end but difficulty rebounding let the Spartans get away with the victory by a score of 37-30. Kendrick Price led all scorers with nine points, Hunter Steinmetz had eight, and Jake Thompson six. Isaiah Holyfield pulled in a team high four defensive rebounds.
The second round had the Cougars hosting the Jarrett Trojans. The game was going to be a tough one based on the first contest, which Carver won by a mere four points. The defense for both teams played aggressively and forced early turnovers. With a quick tempo the Cougars were able to keep pace and were down by only one at the half 23-22. Carver came out cold in the third quarter scoring only one point while Jarrett scored eleven. Rebounding was once again a difficult area for the Cougars who then were forced to play even harder on defense. Hunter Steinmetz, helped by the full court pressure defense of his teammates, was able to get away with seven steals and the Cougars were back in the game. Brant Jones and Noah Nease once again stepped in and played great team basketball while Ben Sandy and Jake Brown led team in with a combined seven offensive rebounds. Despite scoring an impressive fifteen points in the final quarter the season came to an end for the hard working Cougars with the 41-38 loss. Leading the team offensively was Hunter Steinmetz with twelve points, Kendrick Price with ten, and Jake Thompson with nine.
