Though its last two wins came with no style points attached, the Madison County boys’ basketball team is off to its first-ever 6-1 start under coach Steve Crouse.
Madison County rallied to beat Brookwood, 62-59, Saturday in Danielsville and then outlasted Heritage Tuesday, 62-57, in another tight affair at home.
“I want the guys to be encouraged,” Crouse said of his team’s start. “We just don’t need to get complacent.”
Madison County’s 6-1 start will be put to the test Friday when the Red Raiders take on a 6-0 Rockdale County known for suffocating man-to-man defense and full-court pressure.
“They’ll pressure us as soon as we get off the bus,” Crouse said.
Madison County moves on to a non-region rivalry game at Franklin County Saturday and returns home for another region matchup with Loganville Tuesday for alumni night.
Bradley Raines led Madison County with 21 points Tuesday, hitting four three-pointers against Heritage, as the Red Raiders moved to 2-1 in subregion play.
Patrick McCrary, who’s been battling back problems, chipped in 14 points and 12 boards one game after reaching the 1,000-point mark for his career.
Dominique Parrish added nine points with three three-pointers. The team was 8-of-20 behind the arc on the night.
Madison County led 46-45 at the end of three quarters but fell behind by three points twice in the fourth quarter. The Red Raider defense, however, surrendered only three points in the last 3:44, while Madison County took over offensively. Raines drilled a three-pointer with 3:35 left to tie the contest at 54, and Madison County closed the game by hitting six of its last seven free throw attempts.
“That was big for us late in the game,” said Crouse, whose team was 18-for-26 on the night from the charity stripe.
Madison County survived a prolific shooting night from Heritage’s Jelani Archer, who hit seven three-pointers in the first half.
•Madison Co. 62, Brookwood 59 (Dec. 5): McCrary scored his 1,000th career point Saturday night but Raines sparked Madison County’s fifth victory of the year.
Raines scored 18 points and grabbed 16 boards as the Red Raiders defeated the Broncos 62-59 in Danielsville.
Stan Maxwell also finished with a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 14 boards. McCrary, who was injured in the second quarter and limited the rest of the way, had 11 points and seven rebounds.
Madison County started fast — the Red Raiders led by 22 points late in the second quarter — but let the large lead evaporate.
“I think we’ve got complacent,” Crouse said.
Madison County trailed by five points midway through the fourth quarter before putting the Class AAAAA Broncos away.
The Red Raiders’ 29 turnovers allowed Brookwood to stay in the ball game and briefly pull ahead.
“That’s 29 possessions that we don’t get a shot up,” Crouse said.
McCrary got the milestone out of the way early, passing the 1,000-point plateau with a first-quarter free throw.
“The true testimony to that is that he works just hard all the time,” Crouse said of McCrary’s accomplishment. “He works hard all the time. It’s just non-stop. You just start to run out of accolades at some point, because he’s just such a good kid.”
•Monroe Area 69, Madison Co. 48 (Dec. 4): Sophomore Monroe Area guard Ken Jackson scored 15 points in the first half Friday night to hand Madison County its first loss of the season.
The Red Raiders trailed 35-20 at intermission and never recovered in a 69-48 setback on the road.
Jackson finished with 21 points.
“He was the difference in the ball game,” Crouse said. “He scores 21 and we lose by 21.”
Crouse said his team was well aware of Jackson but didn’t get the job done defensively.
“Bottom line, we didn’t defend well,” Crouse said.
Madison County shot just 31 percent from the floor and committed 19 turnovers.
McCrary, who led the Red Raiders with 14 points, cut the Monroe Area lead to 57-48 with 1:16 left, but the Purple Hurricanes closed the game with a 12-0 run.
MCHS 62, Heritage 57 (Dec. 8)
HHS 20 14 11 12 — 57
MCHS 19 14 13 16 — 62
Scorers: Raines 21, P. McCrary 14, Parrish 9, Maxwell 7, Burton 5, McGuire 4, Butler 2
MCHS 62, Brookwood 59 (Dec. 5)
BHS 12 16 14 17 — 59
MCHS 25 15 7 15 — 62
Scorers: Raines 18, P. McCrary 11, Maxwell 11, McGuire 7, T. McCrary 6, Burton 4, Butler 3, Crouse 2
Monroe Area 69, Madison Co. 48 (Dec. 4)
MCHS 12 8 14 14 — 48
MAHS 16 19 13 21 — 69
Scorers: McCrary 14, Raines 9, Maxwell 9, McGuire 7, Burton 5, Parrish 3, Butler 1
