All 21st Century’s Elijah Musaddiq wanted to do was get back to work.
Minutes after the Cougars’ season ended Saturday night, the 6-foot-3 junior forward was already eyeing the future.
“I just want to get back in the gym and prepare for next year,” Musaddiq said. “We only lost by four, so we’ve got to lock in and come back next year.”
Musaddiq scored six of his eight points in the fourth quarter of the Class 2A North Judson Regional championship game, but the host Bluejays pulled ahead in the final two minutes to beat the Cougars 47-43.
Junior forward Lemetrius Williams led 21st Century (20-7) with 14 points, and sophomore guard Terrence Hayes Jr. added 13 points.
North Judson (16-9), which erased a 10-point lead in the third quarter, led 46-43 when the Cougars got the ball near half-court with 7.6 seconds left. But 21st Century was whistled for a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball, and North Judson made a free throw seconds later to put the game out of reach.
“It was a good game, a dogfight,” Musaddiq said. “The better team came out. They worked harder than us. They outhustled us.”
As 21st Century coach James Scott spoke after the game, he gestured toward a whiteboard with a list of bullet points under a headline reading “Keys to the game.”
“We did not do these, and that was the outcome,” Scott said.
The Cougars had success early by working the ball inside to Musaddiq, who entered the game averaging 9.6 points and 7.0 rebounds in his first varsity season, and the 6-4 Williams.
But the only thing on Musaddiq’s mind after the game was what he can do to contribute more next season.
“I need to be able to handle the ball better,” he said. “If I can do that, then I’ll have more opportunities to score.”
Musaddiq repeated a two-word phrase as he explained what the Cougars have to do better.
“We’ve got to lock in,” he said. “We’ve just got to work harder and lock in more and trust each other as a team more next year.”
The Cougars will likely have time to do that. There are no seniors among the six players the Cougars had on the floor for most of the game against North Judson, reflecting the turnover in personnel after a veteran team won back-to-back regional titles in the previous two seasons.
But that offered no solace for Scott, who became the Cougars’ coach in December after Gary Hayes unexpectedly resigned. Scott had led them to 13 straight victories.
“We wanted to win this stuff now,” he said. “I know we’re all sophomores and juniors, but nothing’s promised to you for next year. Some of these kids could transfer. Someone could get hurt. We don’t know what next year will bring.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
