Cougars go on road to Breck, come home with two wins

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timmy-h-2

The middle school basketball teams took a road trip on Monday, traveling to Harned to take on the Breckinridge County Fighting Tigers. They came home later in the evening with wins in both the seventh and eighth-grade games.

In the opener, the seventh-graders built a 19-point lead in the third quarter, only to see the Tigers pull back to within seven in the fourth quarter. The Cougars held them off in the end, winning by nine, 39-30.

The eighth-graders scored the game’s first eight points, but the Tigers came back to make a game of it before the Cougars finally prevailed, 51-42.

SEVENTH-GRADE GAME

Grayson County never trailed in this game, racing out to a 10-5 lead after the first period of play. Brayden Childress scored on a lay-in at the 4:04 mark of the second period to increase the Cougar lead to 11 points, 18-7. The Cougars then scored the final four points of the half to take a 13-point lead into the locker room, 24-11.

When Nolan Hornbeck buried a 15-footer with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter, the Cougars held their largest lead of the night, 19 points at 30-11. But the Tigers decided the game was not over just yet. They closed out the period on a 13-5 run to close to within 11 points, 35-24 as the fourth quarter began.

The Tigers then scored the first four points of the final period to pull to within seven points of the lead, 35-28 with 4:05 left in the game. Neither team got much done after that and the Cougars were able to outscore the Tigers 4-2 the rest of the way to secure the win.

Eamon O’Donahue led the Tigers with 14 points. Hornbeck had another big game for the Cougars, leading the team with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocked shots.

River Blanton scored eight points, while Childress and Jerron Salazar had seven apiece. Brayden Renfrow and Dillon Horn both scored two points to complete the scoring and Renfrow led the team with seven steals.

EIGHTH-GRADE GAME

When the Cougars scored the first eight points of the game, it looked like it might turn into a rout, but the Tigers had other ideas. A Breck County three with 57 seconds left in the opening period cut the deficit to five points, 15-10. Grayson County then scored the final four points of the period to take a nine-point, 19-10 lead into the second period.

When the Tigers opened the second quarter with a 14-4 run, they took their first lead of the night, 24-23 with 2:33 left in the half. Timmy Hanover hit a lay-in to put the Cougars back on top by one, and they maintained that one-point lead, 27-26 at the break.

The Tigers took a 28-27 lead at the start of the third quarter, but Zeb Bratcher buried a three in response, and the Cougars went back in front, 30-28, and this time they would not give the lead back.

A lay-in by Keegan Sharp and a put-back basket by Chandler McCrady put Grayson County on top by six, 34-28 with 4:20 left in the period. The Cougars led by four, 38-34 heading into the final period of play.

A Breck County put-back basket at the 3:21 mark of the fourth quarter brought the Tigers to within two points, 40-38, but they would get no closer. The Cougars responded with seven straight points to put the game on ice.

Bratcher led the Cougars with 19 points and was named Player of the Game. McCrady joined him in double figures with 14 points. Hanover finished with seven points, Sharp and Hornbeck both added four points, and Hunter Tomes scored three to close out the scoring. Tomes also led the team on the glass with nine rebounds.

By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com

 

 

 

 

Brayden Renfrow was all alone as he
took the ball to the hole in the second half.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nolan Hornbeck had 13 points, 10 rebounds
and three blocks as the 7th graders won at Breck.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hunter Tomes scored just three points but he led the

team with nine rebounds for the 8th graders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zeb Bratcher passed between three defenders. Bratcher
led all scorers with 19 points in the 8th-grade win.