This article was published in 2012
Columbia Wildcats basketball has gotten very interesting as of late.

The Boys varsity basketball team as of Jan. 18 has gone on a four game winning streak for a 6-10 overall record and 5-1 conference record.

“I attribute our recent winning to being tougher on the defensive end. We have also had better offensive efficiency. Against Creswell we were more efficient offensively than we have been all year,” said Head Coach Bill Manning.

Offense efficiency in the most succinct sense of the word would mean running plays and everybody doing their job on the play to get a good shot. This also means shot conversion.

“All four of these teams that we beat recently, I consider to be very good teams. I think our league this year is very balanced,” said Manning.

A recent winning streak could dry up at any given moment, because on any given night anybody could beat anybody.

The entire stretch of the Wildcats’ recent wins has been pretty close and could have gone either way.

The Tideland Atlantic Conference does not have specific preseason league rankings. Creswell won the conference last year.

However this year there is still parity.

“Ocracoke has had five starters back from last year. Cape Hatteras returned several key shooters from previous years. Mattamuskeet is always tough with an important center and point guard. Creswell also had returned some players from the team that won last year,” said Manning.

The Wildcats’ 5-1 conference mark is only half-way through the season. There is still a long way to go.

Manning emphasized the collective effort of his entire team in the recent winning streak.

Junior Quinton Reynolds was the Player of the Game in a Jan. 7 win 59-56 win against Cape Hatteras.

Reynolds made a last second three point shot to win the game.

Kurtlin Moore was the player of the game in a Dec. 19 55-50 win against Ocracoke.
Moore had 10 fourth quarter points to help pull out a win.

Moore was also the player of the game in a Jan. 9 45-36 win against Mattamuskeet.

Moore had 19 points 7 rebounds, solid defense and a consistent floor game.

The Tideland Atlantic conference tournament starts Feb. 18 after 12 conference games are played and finished.