MINT HILL, NC – The Charlotte Catholic boys basketball team had no trouble handling the Patriots in a 4A Conference 59 matchup at the “Big I.” The Cougars starting big men of Patrick Tivnan 6’8″, Thomas Vaughn 6’6″, and assistance off the bench from Chris Eagan 6’7″, and Edgar Escobedo 6’8″ were too much for the much smaller Patriots inside the paint. While junior SG Ryan Lewis had a good night scoring 17 points from the backcourt position along with Liam Gates and Angelo Alexander from the PG position combined contributed 16 points.
Meanwhile, Tosh Alberga 6’6″ big man in the middle for the Patriots had a consistent and solid basketball game for the Pats scoring 16 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks in a good effort. He had two slam dunks in the contest as well.
This was a close contest for the first two periods. The first period ended with a 13-13 stalemate. The teams banged under the boards, there was good passing, defense, and the game was played at a steady pace by both coaches. Alberga kept the Patriots in contention with 12 points including a 3-pointer in the first two periods. He scored half of Indy’s 24 points, and played effectively under the boards inside the paint. Meanwhile, he did get assistance and support from Kameron Jasper who drilled two 3-pointers, and Nick Barnes off the bench swished a nice 3-pointer of his own. However, Gates and 5’9″ PG Angelo Alexander scored all 13 points for the Cougars in the second period which made the difference at the intermission with Catholic now leading 26-24.
In the third period the Cougars outscored Indy 16-7 to extend their advantage 42-31 giving them a comfortable lead entering the final period. The damage was done off the backs of Lewis, Tivnan, and Vaughn who combined for 14 of the points scored. Lewis hitting a 3-pointer, and the big men dominating inside the paint. While Alberga picked up 2 more points, Kolbe Johnson added a jumper, and Barnes connected on his second 3-pointer for Indy.
In the final fame, the Cougars seemed to wear down the Patriots who at times have a difficult time scoring points. After a competitive first two periods, they were outscored 33 to 14 in the final two periods. Also, they committed 17 turnovers in the game compared with 12 for Catholic which made a difference during transition and creating scoring opportunities. The Cougars outscored the Patriots 17-7 in the fourth period putting this game completely out of reach. Lewis scored 7 points, Tivnan added 4, Chris Eagan 3, and Vaughn 2, while Kolbe Johnson had 4 points in the period for Indy.
Catholic improved their record to 16-4 overall, and 7-1 in 4A Conference 59, while Independence is now 10-9 overall, and 3-4 in the conference. Lewis led all scorers with 17 points, Tivnan 11, Alexander 9, Vaughn 8, Gates 7 for the Cougars. While Alberga finished with 16, Kameron Jasper 8, Johnson 6, Barnes 6 for the Patriots.
