After splitting the opening tip-off tourney, Madison County’s boys’ basketball team returned from the holiday break to take on Elbert County in a tough home battle Tuesday.
Expecting the pressure from the Blue Devils, the Red Raiders battled from the start, jumping to an early lead, but Elbert County bounced back and took the lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Madison County made clutch free throws and retook the lead. Elbert County’s seven game win streak ended with the Madison County 74-68 victory.
“I am pleased with the win, but we didn’t do it the way I expected,” said coach Stephen Crouse.
Madison County and Elbert County each received four technicals Tuesday night as players lost some composure on the court.
“We played hard, maybe not smart sometimes but hard,” Crouse said. “We had too many turnovers, but we won the rebounding battle which was important to us and we improved.”
Madison County had 30 defensive rebounds and 17 offensive rebounds, beating Elbert County on both sides of the court. Elbert County totaled 19 defensive and 14 offensive rebounds. For the Red Raiders, Stan Maxwell led the team with 13 and Trae Burton with 15 in rebounds. The Red Raiders had 19 turnovers and 15 assists. While the turnovers still needs improvement, according to Crouse, another area that Madison County wants to see continue to improve is free throws. Tuesday night, the Red Raiders hit 19 of 34, a little better than 50 percent.
Overall, four Red Raiders hit double digits, with Maxwell leading the charge in a clear player of the week performance. Maxwell scored 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 steals and went 7-10 on the line, Burton scored 15 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists, Trey Carruth scored 10 points and Terrell McCrary scored 10 points. Other scorers: Quinton Thomas, 3 points; Domonique Parrish, 5 points; and Josh Crouse, 7 points.
“We are not shooting poorly, we just want to eliminate bad shots,” said Crouse.
The fourth quarter free throws are what helped give Madison County the win as the boys put in eight of 10, while Elbert only made two of four in the final minutes.
With the team’s second win on the books, the Red Raiders will continue to look to respond to adversity on the court as the season rolls on.
Now Madison County turns its attention to the weekend, as the Red Raiders take to the road in the first away game of the season. Coming up on Saturday, the Red Raiders head to Cedar Shoals to face the Jaguars for a 6:30 p.m. tip-off.
While Cedar Shoals has a leading record between the schools, winning eight of the past 11 games, Madison County has triumphed in the past three encounters. The most recent match-up between the Red Raiders and the Jaguars went to Madison County in a 64-49 contest last January.
The outcome of the Dec. 4 game is of little consequence other than boosting the win-loss record for the team as the cross-region game won’t affect the region standings. Madison County starts worrying about region play in January. The Cedar Shoals games is however a good build up for the Red Raiders to see how what some of the later games will bring.
Coach Crouse said the game should be a good one for the fans and that Cedar Shoals is a scrappy team. According to Crouse the key for Madison County this weekend will be for the Red Raiders to maintain ball handling and shot selection.
“We cannot allow easy baskets,” he said adding, “We have to get them to play at our speed with Madison County setting the pace.”
Next week, Dec. 7, Madison County stays on the road taking on the Bulldogs at Hart County. Hart County has an aggressive team that moves into the AA region this season. Madison County tips-off at Hart on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
