McIntosh basketball teams sweep East Coweta

By Horace Holloman
Special to The Citizen

Perfection is a difficult task to accomplish on any level of athletics but so far the Lady Chiefs of McIntosh High School remained perfect (6-0) at home with a 51-20 victory over the Lady Indians of East Coweta High School Saturday evening in McIntosh gymnasium.

Coming off a 67-17 victory over Northgate High School the previous night, the Lady Chiefs played sluggish in the first quarter.

“I think we got a little out of shape over the break, towards the end of the game we started to execute better and get into the flow of things,” said Gabby Seiler, who just missed a triple double finishing the night with 12 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.

The Lady Indians defense seemed to stifle the McIntosh offense in the early goings until senior guard Amanda Lindsey knocked down three consecutive three-pointers to help give her team a 15-7 cushion in the second quarter.

“They were playing us in a triangle and two which is fine for us, we know that’s going to leave Amanda open and she has got to knock them down,” said head coach David Dowse. “Our offense is predicated on what the defense gives us. It’s kind of like checkers, they make one move and we have to counter back.”
Lindsey had a team high 18 points and is averaging 10.5 points for the season.

In the second half the Lady Chiefs picked up their defensive intensity and finished the game with 15 points off transition baskets holding their opponent to under 25 points for the fifth time this season. Coach Dowse’s relentless style of defensive pressure could be vital to the Lady Chiefs game plan in the second half of the season. No team has scored more than 50 points against the McIntosh defense and opponents only average 29 points per game.

“Well, I’m very pleased with where we are right now,” said Dowse. “The second half of the season is when it really counts because those are your region games and we are fighting for a region championship.”

The McIntosh High School boys basketball team has made a habit of playing in close games this season and last Saturday’s non-region matchup against East Coweta was no different. Led by the freshman duo of Jordan Lyons and Will Washington the Chiefs edged out the Indians 60-56, tying their largest winning streak of the season (5). Lyons finished with a team high 22 points and Washington added 10 points, five assists, and three steals for the night.

The Chiefs held a lead for most of the fourth quarter, however a few costly turnovers allowed the Indians to cut the lead to one with just under a minute left. The McIntosh defense held the Indians scoreless in the waning seconds of the game and clutch free throws secured the Chiefs 10th win of the season.

Despite having a couple of freshman in the starting lineup the Chiefs (10-5) play with poise when the game is on the line.

McIntosh has a 6-2 record in games decided by six points or less. Freshman standout Lyons averages 20.8 points a game in those type of situations, three points above his regular season average (17.4).

“We know we are not a team built to blow people out so when it comes down to crunch time late in the game we have to execute,” said head coach Jason Eisele “We drill them every day in practice on game situations and as long as we don’t have any brain cramps we feel confident we can execute at game time.”
After a disappointing 1-3 start to the year, coach Eisele has his team buying into the coaching philosophy at the right time.
“We had a rough start to the season and that was [my fault], what we were doing just wasn’t working but I think the guys are starting to trust the offense, trust the system, and trust what we are doing,” said Eisele.

McIntosh will face what could be their toughest task of the year when they take on two regional opponents on the road back-to-back starting with Creekside on January 11 and then the “battle of the bubble” at Starr’s Mill on January 12.

Editor’s note: Until the region tournaments begin, we will feature one game between local teams a week.