Junior guard Keegan Sharp hit nine three-pointers and finished with a career-high 39 points Tuesday night in the Cougar Den to lead the Cougars to a 66-55, overtime win over the visiting Meade County Green Wave.
The Cougars led by two, 8-6 following a low-scoring first period and they trailed by five, 20-15 at the half.
Things picked up at the start of the second half as Sharp scored all 10 points in a 10-4 run that saw the Cougars retake the lead, 25-24 at the 5:24 mark of the third quarter. Meade County held a seven-point lead, 39-32 at the start of the fourth quarter.
A Sharp three-pointer at 4:24 of the fourth quarter capped a 9-2 Cougar run that tied the score at 41-41. Meade scored the next three points to lead 44-41 with 2:39 left to play, but Sharp went 4-for-4 at the line to put the Cougars in front 45-44 with 41 seconds left.
Meade’s Cam Armstead was fouled with 20.7 seconds left and went to the line for two shots and the chance to put the Green Wave back on top, but he missed the first shot and made the second to tie things 45-45 and the game went to the overtime period.
Sharp opened the extra period with back-to-back threes and Chandler McCrady hit a pair of free throws in the first minute of overtime to make it 53-45. When Sharp hit his last three of the night with 2:30 left to play, the Cougars had scored 11 straight and were in complete control, 56-45.
When McCrady scored on an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:31 remaining, the Cougars held their largest lead of the night, 15 points at 62-47 and it was all over except the shouting.
Canon Decker led the Green Wave with 15 points, and Dylan Abell added 10.
McCrady finished with 14 points, while River Blanton scored seven and pulled down seven rebounds. Owen Bratcher scored four points, while Dillon Horn had two to close out the scoring and he added six rebounds to his totals. Junior Hunter Tomes did not score in the game but led the team on the glass with 10 rebounds.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
