After leading 12-11 at the end of the first period Thursdayh night in Brownsville, the Cougars shot just 1-of 10 from the field in the second period, allowing the Edmonson County Wildcats to go on a 12-0 run and take a lead they would not give back on their way to a 53-41 win over the Cougars.
There were four lead changes at the start of the game before the Wildcats scored six in a row to take an 11-9 lead with 1:55 left in the first period. Chandler McCrady then beat the buzzer with a shot from half-court that gave the Cougars a 12-11 lead at the start of the second period.
Chaz Wilson opened the second with back-to-back baskets to put the Wildcats in front 15-12. Nolan Shartzer then scored on a put-back basket to cut the lead to a point, 15-14. The Wildcats then closed out the half on a 12-0 run to lead by 13 points, 27-14.
When Nick Clemmons hit a three-pointer with 2:26 left in the third quarter, the Wildcat lead had grown to 20 points, 40-20. They led by 17 points, 44-27 at the start of the final period of play.
Two free throws by Mason Pierce with 4:41 left pushed the lead back up to 20 points, 53-33. Grayson County then closed out the game by scoring the last eight points to make the final score a bit closer.
Dalton Decker, who scored his 1,000th point early in the third period, led the Wildcats in scoring with 16 points while Wilson had 15.
Shartzer led the Cougars with 14 points, while McCrady and Keegan Sharp each had eight points. Jaxon Higdon had three points, while four players, Brayden Childress, Dillon Horn, River Blanton and Hunter Tomes had two each to round out the scoring.
By Don Brown, Local Sports
Reach Don at donbrown@k105.com
