For the first time in school history, the Alexander boys basketball team came home Saturday night with a tournament title. The Cougars took home the Allatoona Lake City Classic honor after three days of hard fought basketball on the court.

Alexander opened the tournament with a victory over North Clayton Thursday and then defeated host school Allatoona Friday in the semi-finals.

Saturday, AHS took on Central Gwinnett, maintaining a small lead throughout the game for a 68-63 victory.

“This was a big win,” said coach Jason Slate. “We had to beat three good teams and now we just have to keep improving.”

The Cougars jumped out 22-16 in the first period and led 34-28 at the half. They went up 51-46 in the third. Central-Gwinnett managed to cut the deficit to four points in the fourth but could not get any closer.

“I thought we came out and played well at the beginning of the game but once against we did not do a good job finishing,” Slate said. “We get people down early and then we let them back in the game. That is something we have to get better at.”

Offensively, Alexander was led by Mikell Lands’ 17 points. Hassani Gravett followed with 15.

“Mikell did it in different ways tonight. He shot three’s, hit his free throws, and drove to the basket,” Slate said. “Hassani did a really good job running off screens and shooting the ball well.”

Karim Mawuenyega also reached double digits in scoring with 13 points for the Cougars. Kevion Dailey and Kemarcus Frazier played well on the defensive side of the ball.

Alexander will be back in action on Jan. 4 when they take on their first region opponent, Troup County at half. Game time for the girls is set at 6 p.m. and the boys will follow at 7:30 p.m.

AHS GIRLS

The Lady Cougars took on MLK in their final consolation game of the Lake City Classic Saturday. Alexander maintained a lead throughout the game and went on to win a close contest, 55-53.

The Lady Cougars were up 13-10 after the first period and 30-20 at the half. They led 44-36 going into the final eight minutes.

Alexander got superb post play from both Daijea Anderson and Deanna Dorsey. Anderson finished with a team high 19 points and Dorsey added 14.

“They are playing phenomenal,” said AHS coach Marcy Camp. “Every game they get better and better and I am really proud of them.”

Molly Brown also had a solid offensive game with 15 points. Treasure Matthews played well on the defensive side of the ball, shutting down MLK’s best player for three periods.

Both Alexander teams will be back in action on Jan. 4 when they host Troup in the region opener. Games start at 6 p.m.