The Cougars used a 12-0, fourth quarter run to erase a five-point deficit and propel them to a 45-40 win over Whitesville Trinity Tuesday evening in the opening round of the 12th District Tournament, being played at Edmonson County.
The win assures the Cougars of a spot in next week’s 3rd Region Tournament at the Sportscenter, in Owensboro. The Cougars will play the host Edmonson County Wildcats in the 12th District final at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Wildcats hung on for a 44-42 win over Butler County in the late game on Tuesday.
In a low-scoring first period, the Raiders scored the final four points of the period to take a 10-8 lead into the second quarter. They also scored the final four points of the second period and took a 19-18 lead into the halftime intermission.
When the Raiders opened the third quarter with an 8-1 run, they held their largest lead of the game, eight points at 27-19 at the 4:00 mark. The Cougars then closed out the period with a modest 5-2 run to trail by just five points, 29-24 heading into the final period of play.
The Raiders still led by five points, 35-30 following a lay-in by Sam Russellburg at the 6:07 mark, when the Cougars began their run. The Cougars scored on three straight possessions, with Josh Embry’s lay-up at the 3:14 mark putting them in front to stay at 36-35.
Grayson County then went to the free throw line eight straight times and hit six of them to take a seven-point lead, 42-35 with 43.6 seconds left.
A three-pointer by Trenton Morris cut the lead to three points, 43-40 with 17.2 seconds left, but Nolan Shartzer hit two free throws with 14 seconds left for the final margin of victory.
Spencer Sharp and Q’Daryius McHenry both scored 16 points to lead the Cougars, and McHenry made it a double-double night by pulling down 12 rebounds.
Shartzer finished with eight points and he added seven rebounds. Embry finished with four points and Wyatt Schultz scored one to complete the Cougar scoring.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
