Foul trouble for Manassas star Catthadious Moore hurts in state quarterfinal loss

MURFREESBORO — The dagger that put the game out of reach came with under 30 seconds to go in the third quarter. Columbia Academy's Tanner Ham pulled up from well beyond the 3-point line to stretch the Bulldogs' lead to double digits.

Manassas (30-4) was unable to recover, falling to Columbia Academy 77-53 in the Class A quarterfinals on Thursday. It was a bittersweet ending to the Tigers' first trip to the state tournament since 2014. 

"It was a very great experience because when the team won in 2009 I was down here watching the team win state, and I always dreamed of playing on this type of stage," said Manassas guard Jalen Robinson. "I always wanted to feel what this kind of feeling and atmosphere feels like. And I'm thankful to actually get a taste of what that feels like. I'm blessed to be here."

Manassas' Catthadious Moore, a Class A Mr. Basketball finalist, got in foul trouble early and only played 22 minutes. He posted 10 points and 10 rebounds on 4-of-5 shooting.

"I'd say it just took their team out of their rhythm," said Columbia Academy guard Carson Cary. "He's kind of their main guy, their go-to guy so to get him on the bench took them out of what they wanted to do, so that was big for us." 

Robinson (16 points) and Wendell Rodgers (19 points) picked up some of the scoring slack, but it wasn't enough to pull of the victory.

"Jalen just goes. That's why we had to put somebody on him to try and get him out of his rhythm because he was really setting things up for the rest of their team," said Columbia Academy coach Marty Dejarnette. "I thought that was a key to the game to try and take the ball out of his hands as much as possible and maybe try to get their offense flowing somewhere else."

The Tigers shot 31 percent from the field and finished 4-of-25 on 3-point attempts. Columbia Academy grabbed 47 rebounds while Manassas pulled down 29. 

Cary led Columbia Academy with 22 points, and Sky Polk added 14. 

Columbia Academy (29-5) advances to play Eagleville in the Class A semifinals on Friday at 4:30 p.m. 

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