Dover, TN – Clarksville Academy’s Austin Fisher scored 21 of his game-high 30 points after intermission, December 27th at the Bill Craig Memorial Gymnasium in the first day of the Stewart County High School Christmas Classic, to lead the Cougars past the Montgomery Central High School Indians, 54-37.
Fisher came out on fire to open the second half, almost doubling his point total for the game with eight points in the first 2:30 of the period – including two 3s, to give the Cougars (4-6) a 30-25 lead.
Perkins would finish with 10 points.
Fisher would knock down back-to-back 3s to push the Cougars out to nine points, 38-29, while Jake Rugen followed with two free throws to give Clarksville Academy a double-figure lead for the first time in the game with 1:33 left in the period, 40-29.
The Indians would answer back with five straight points on a three by Perkins and a bucket by Lamont Smith to get it back to a six-point margin, 40-34, heading into the final quarter of play.
Smith would lead Montgomery Central with 15 points.
Clarksville Academy would pull away in the final eight minutes, as they held Montgomery Central without a field goal over the final eight minutes of play, outscoring the Indians 14-3 for the 17-point final margin.
In the first half, the Indians got off to a good start by jumping out to a 12-7 lead over the first 5:25 – including 3s from Trey Burney and Perkins – but the Cougars scored the final five points of the quarter; including a three by Fisher with 36 seconds left, to tie the game 12-12 after the frit eight minutes of play.
The second quarter would see the two teams trade baskets over the first five minutes of the period with three more ties, the last at 18-18 after a bucket by the Indians Smith, with 2:28 left before intermission.
Both teams would trade the lead back-and-fourth three times in the final 2:08, with a basket by Clarksville Academy’s Donavan Boatright with two seconds left giving the Cougars a 22-21 advantage at halftime.
Both teams return to action December 28th in the classic, with Montgomery Central facing South Haven Christian School at 3:00pm, while Clarksville Academy squares off against Camden High School at 6:00pm.
The classic concludes on December 30th.
Box Score
Clarksville Academy 54, Montgomery Central 37
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Montgomery Central Indians | 12 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 37 |
| Clarksville Academy Cougars | 12 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 54 |
Montgomery Central: Dalton Perkins 10, Corie Belmont 1, Alex Wade 4, Lamont Smith 15, Trey Burney 5, Justin Cowan 2. Team totals 15 4-10 37.
Clarksville Academy: Thomas Jackson 8, Jake Rugen 6, Donavan Boatright 7, Sam Lipsey 3, Austin Fisher 30. Team totals 18 13-22 54.
3-point field goals: Montgomery Central 3 (Perkins 2, Burney 1), Clarksville Academy 5 (Fisher 5).
Records: Montgomery Central 4-5, Clarksville Academy 4-6.
