Rising senior Jagger Mardis had a monster day in a pair of tough losses for the Cougar basketball team at the WKU Team Camp on Friday.
Mardis, who transferred to Grayson County last month, averaged 16.2 points per game while shooting 43% from three for LaRue County last season.
The rising senior scored 26 points in a loss to St. Xavier and 18 against Caverna.
The story of the day was big runs given up by the Cougars, which allowed for both the Tigers and Colonels to pull away
St. Xavier
The day got started on the floor of Diddle Arena as the Orange and Blue took on preseason top-five team St. Xavier.
A lethargic start saw the Cougars fall behind 20-3 as the Tigers were lethal from outside the arc.
That is where the Mardis show began in attempting to keep the team in the contest. He would score 17 of the 23 points in the first half, as there was a 34-23 deficit at the break.
The second half was a different story for Grayson County as shots finally started to drop. With only a few minutes left, Mardis was fouled and made both shots to bring the deficit down to five.
After a St. Xavier missed shot on the next possession, the Cougars had the ball with a chance to bring it to a one-possession game, but the shot didn’t drop. The Tigers then knocked in a basket, and the comeback fell short.
A resounding dunk with 50 seconds left capped off a 56-47 win for the defending 7th Region champions.
Caverna
While the Cougars were scheduled to play Louisville Male, a late change gave them the chance to play Caverna, which is projected as one of the top teams in the 5th Region next season.
The two squads traded buckets for most of the first half, but a Jagger Mardis shot gave Grayson County a 33-25 advantage in the closing moments of the half.
From there, though, it was all Colonels who used a 21-4 run between the end of the first and the start of the second to jump out in front by nine points.
Grayson County brought it to within six a few times, but never could get it closer as Caverna won 68-53.
Kamden Sanders was one of the stars of the game, finishing with 16 points and a couple of rebounds, while rising junior Jack Logsdon added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Saturday Games
The Cougars returned to Diddle Arena on Saturday and played five games. They avenged a Thursday loss to Pulaski County and also downed John Hardin, West Jessamine, and LaRue County before losing to Warren Central in the championship game.
They will return to the court three times this week. On Tuesday, they’ll play at Fairdale, on Thursday at Barren County, and on Friday will play in a tournament at Central Hardin where they’ll get a rematch with Warren Central.
By Sam Gormley, Play-By-Play Announcer/Local Sports
Reach Sam at sam@k105.com
