By Jason Williams
Memphis, TN – Just seven months after undergoing surgery on a torn ACL, Christian Brothers’ Josh Bougher proved himself to be the best player in the Division II-AA West Region with a 19-point performance that led his team to a region championship.
The Purple Wave (16-11, 5-1) defeated Briarcrest (18-9, 4-2) at home in a heated rivalry game, 54-47, with a region championship on the line. Bougher did most of his damage after halftime, scoring 14 points after his coaches told him to make quicker decisions.
“We got after him a little bit at halftime and told him he was catching the ball and holding it and giving the defense an opportunity to adjust to him,” said CBHS head coach Bubba Luckett. “We told him you either catch and shoot or you’ve got to put it on the floor quick and make a move. He did that, and it was effective for us.”
Still not 100 percent after suffering a torn ACL, torn lateral meniscus and a small fracture in his left knee, Bougher has moved past the physical and mental hurdles that comes with a significant knee injury.
“I feel great,” Bougher said. “I know I’m not 100 percent yet. I’m seven months out of surgery, but as far as playing and getting after it, I love it. I’m feeling good.”
Bougher missed the first part of the season recovering from his injury, but Luckett said it gave other players a chance to learn what they could do.
“It was hard, but I think it made us a better team because we had other guys having to do some things,” Luckett said. “Not having (Bougher) made some of our players have to do more, and now they’re able to do it without having to do this for the first time.”
One of those players whose confidence has grown throughout the season is sophomore Undra Wilson, who finished with 12 points and made four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
“I haven’t had seniors with as much poise as he’s showing right now,” Luckett said. “He’s really come one as a solid high school point guard. He’s been a difference maker in our little run lately where we’ve been playing so well.”
Briarcrest trailed by as many as nine points in the first quarter, but senior Gus Gran led a charge to get his team back in the game. Gran finished with 17 points, four rebounds and six assists on the night. He also helped give the Saints the lead in the third quarter when he found point guard Mark French for a three-pointer.
Gran sunk two free throws that put his team ahead 35-33 with 3:28 to go in the third quarter, but the Purple Wave responded with a 7-0 run and controlled the lead for the remainder of the game.
The Saints blew a number of opportunities in the fourth quarter by committing four quick turnovers.
Trailing 44-49 with 1:20 left in the game, sophomore Micah Thomas stole an errant pass and raced down the left side of the court. The 6-foot-7 Thomas tried to slam the ball with authority but his attempt hit the back of the rim and bounced in the air and into the arms of a CBHS player.
Thomas entered the game as the region’s leading scorer at 14 points per game and a candidate for most valuable player in the league but struggled with only five points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Division II-AA West Region update:
Christian Brothers won the outright region title with Tuesday’s victory over Briarcrest.
Both the Purple Wave and the Saints receive a bye in the sub state play-in round. Each team will host a sub state game on Saturday, February 21.
According to the MUS basketball twitter, the Owls defeated St. Benedict 55-38. These teams will face each other in the play-in round on Saturday for the right to go to the sub state round. MUS will be the home team.
Final standings:
1. Christian Brothers (16-11, 5-1)
2. Briarcrest Christian (18-9, 4-2)
3. Memphis University School (14-13, 3-3)
4. St. Benedict (11-14, 0-6)
Unofficial box score:
| No. | CBHS Player | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | TO | Blk. | Stl. | FG | 3P | FT |
| 24 | Josh Bougher* | 19 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 7-15 | 2-5 | 3-6 |
| 10 | Undra Wilson* | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 4-5 |
| 44 | Brode McLaughlin* | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4-10 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Harrison Deneka* | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2-6 | 2-5 | 1-2 |
| 1 | Frederick Douglas* | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2-6 | 0-2 | 0-0 |
| 11 | Dominic Volpe | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 33 | Shun Alexander | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 35 | William Douglas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| – | TEAM | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 54 | 26 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 21-45 | 4-12 | 8-13 | |
| No. | BCS Player | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. | TO | Blk. | Stl. | FG | 3P | FT |
| 4 | Gus Gran* | 17 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6-9 | 0-2 | 5-5 |
| 20 | Will Hrubes | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4-6 | 1-2 | 0-0 |
| 10 | Mark French* | 8 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3-4 | 2-3 | 0-0 |
| 35 | Micah Thomas* | 5 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2-13 | 0-4 | 1-2 |
| 15 | KeShun Pinkney* | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 11 | Adam Pike | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 2-2 |
| 21 | Maceo Woodard* | 2 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-5 | 0-3 | 0-0 |
| 2 | Marc Wilhite | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 3 | Isaiah Sampson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| 22 | Emerick Lester | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| – | TEAM | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Totals | 47 | 25 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 18-41 | 3-16 | 8-9 | |
J-Will Sports 