CAIRO — Despite 77 point scored by the Greenwave, with four players scoring in double-digits, eight three pointers made and being down by 15 in the third quarter, the Syrupmakers of Cairo were unfazed as they defeated 14-1 Spencer 78-77 at home in overtime.
“It was a great game,” said Cairo head basketball coach JJ Cooper. “Both teams played hard, both teams played well. I think they (Spencer) are ranked top ten in all of the rankings sites so, it was a big win for the kids and a very big win for the program.”
Coming off a major five point win over Bainbridge, Cairo was less than favored to hand the Greenwave their second loss of the season. But, some Syrupmakers didn’t get the memo because they went off.
Super-star senior KJ Spence led Cairo in points once again with 31. He got it done on the other end with five steals as well. Amari Powell was a monster on the boards with 14 and added 21 points to his total. Kortnee Brown was active in the scoring column as well, dropping 18 on Spencer.
“Those jokers were on fire. I think it sort of carried over from the night before because versus Bainbridge we hit nine threes in the first half,” Cooper said. “I don’t know what got into them. They just came out shooting, firing on all cylinders.”
Spence, Powell and Brown were an unstoppable trio, combining for 70 of the Syrupmakers 78 points and 28 rebounds.
“They also had four assists apiece,” said Cooper. “They were assisting and they were scoring points. Between those three I can say they had 70 points, but they also had 12 of our 19 assists.”
Cairo’s defense was also solid against Spencer. The Greenwave have dropped 90 three times this season and average 72.2 points per game, Cairo was able to keep them in the 70’s. Spencer averages 38.7 rebounds per game, Cairo held them to 36. Spencer averages 13.4 assists per game and Cairo held them to ten. Spencer also made eight threes in the game and that would be impressive, if they hadn’t taken 26 total shots from beyond the arc. Spencer is a wildly above average team that Cairo held to an average stat line. The point being, the Syrupmaker defense was stout.
“We were able to defend the house.” Cooper said proudly. “We’re still undefeated at home, which is a very, very, very big deal, especially for what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Next, Cairo will meet Hardaway for the second time this season in a big region contest. The Syrupmakers beat Hardaway on January 5, 54-53.